


Heart of Steel

by PeskyFries



Category: Legion of Super Heroes (TV)
Genre: M/M, One Shot Collection, whole plot references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-09-01 21:51:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 46,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8639578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeskyFries/pseuds/PeskyFries
Summary: Series of sad one-shots requested by a friend.





	1. Chapter 1

I have a horrible headache and it’s almost midnight, enjoy, Rachel. t(^^t)

 

“Brainy, are you sure this is where that ship landed?”  
“Positive.” Their footsteps echoed loudly.  
“That pod was right outside, they couldn’t have gotten far.”  
Looking around the cave, Brainiac 5 made his arm into a flash light. “It’s pretty dark in here, unless they could shapeshift themself into a walking beacon, they couldn’t have gotten far.”  
Just minutes before, Bouncing Boy found a distress call about an escaped convict, a shapeshifter of unknown species, that damaged some public property before flying away on a small pod, which Bouncing Boy found soon after, heading towards a rogue moon.  
“What do you think?” Superman asked. “A shapeshifter sounds pretty dangerous.”  
“Possibly,” Brainy said, “There are numerous shapeshifting species in the galaxy; most of them are not very dangerous, but they can be tricky to deal with, so we need to be careful. We don’t know the extent of their powers.”  
“Good to know,” Superman said, looking around. “What is this place, anyway?”  
“A rogue moon,” Brainy explained. “This moon must’ve been rotating around a planet at one point and somehow got off its course. There’s lots of tunnels in this one, though, very strange...” They reached a fork in the tunnel.  
“You go left, I’ll go right,” Brainy said. “If you find them, use your ring to contact me. And be careful, we don’t know what could be in here.”  
“Sure thing,” Superman said, going through the left path, as he used his ring as a miniature flashlight. Brainy continued to the right.  
Brainy couldn’t find anything among the gray-brown rocks. As he traveled farther and farther into multiple dead ends, he grew worried about Superman. He activated his Legion ring. “Brainiac to Superman, have you found anything?”  
No response, not even static. “Brainiac to Superman, do you copy?” Nothing.  
‘Maybe there’s something about this place that makes communication impossible,’ Brainy thought. ‘It’s possible that that’s why the shapeshifter chose this place in particular to land on.’  
He turned back, knowing exactly where he left Superman.  
“Brainy, help!”  
At Superman’s cry, Brainy abandoned all thoughts of being stealthy and ran as fast as he could towards his teammate’s voice, his heavy robot feet loudly echoing around him.  
“Superman!” Brainy yelled out. “Where are you?”  
“Here! I’m stuck!” Superman yelled. “Follow my voice!”  
Brainy ran through another tunnel, where he found Superman, standing there, with one leg stuck in…  
“...What is this?” Superman said, looking down. Light purple crystals had encircled his left foot. “Is this… Kryptonite?”  
“I doubt it,” Brainiac said, bending down and observing it. “You don’t seem to be getting any negative effects from it, right?”  
“I feel just fine,” Superman said. “But I can’t break through it…” He struggled to break free to emphasize his point, but his leg and the crystals did not budge. Suddenly, the crystals started to grow, all the way to his knees. “Do you know what it is, Brainy?”  
“I don’t know,” Brainy admitted. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s possible it could be organic, with how it’s growing like this. Maybe the shapeshifter did something.” He looked up at Superman. “Did you see the shapeshifter while you were stuck?”  
“No,” Superman admitted. “I just walked through here, and then I guess I must’ve stepped on this crystal, and next thing I knew, I was stuck.”  
“Let me see if I can break it myself,” Brainy said, and turned his other arm into a laser gun. Being careful not to aim at Superman’s foot, he aimed and fired.  
The crystal, instead of shattering, expanded; the crystal grew on Superman’s other leg, and went all the way to his mid-thighs.  
“Maybe we’re going at this the wrong way,” Superman said, “maybe you should try hitting it with your super strength.”  
“I’ll try,” Brainy said, with an air of doubt in his voice. Turning into his larger combat form, he brought up one giant fist and brought it back down near Superman’s knees.  
It did less than the laser; the crystal grew again, this time to Superman’s waist level.  
“Okay, nothing is working,” Superman said lamely. “Are you sure you don’t know what this is, Brainy?”  
“It’s possible that this could be the work of the shapeshifter,” Brainy said, looking at Superman’s legs. “But that doesn’t help us out at all.”  
“Maybe if you spent more time trying to figure this out instead of staring at my legs,” Superman joked, “maybe we can get me out of this gunk and get back to finding that criminal.”  
Brainy tried hard not to look embarrassed at the smirk Superman was giving him. Their amusement soon disappeared when the crystal started growing out more, this time growing a few centimeters upwards. Superman’s body was just barely visible under the crystal.  
“This is bad,” Brainy said, now examining the top of the crystal. “This crystal is growing regardless of whether you touch it or not.” He looked up at Superman. “Can you move at all underneath that crystal?”  
Superman tried to wriggle a bit, though only his upper body moved. “No, it’s completely solid.”  
“This is really bad,” Brainy said. “If this goes up to your neck, it could suffocate you. And I think it’s going to move fast.”  
“What about the shapeshifter?” Superman said.  
“They’re not top priority right now,” Brainy said, looking at the crystals and prodding them. “Your safety and life are much more important at this moment.”  
Once again, the crystals crawled up a few more centimeters. “So, any ideas?”  
“We can’t attack it with lasers,” Brainy said. “And physical force won’t help at all. Maybe, I can pull you up with the crystals, and take you back to the ship to examine this properly.” Growing larger, he hugged Superman from behind and tried to pull. After a bit of struggle, he sighed and turned back to normal. “Nothing.”  
Again, the crystals grew, now covering some of his torso. “Brainy, this is really bad.”  
“I know,” Brainy said helplessly. “I just don’t get it. I haven’t seen any of these crystals anywhere else in these caves, and I’ve never… And if that convict was the one who did this, it’ll be impossible to catch them now; they’re probably off the moon now.”  
“So, no ideas?” Superman said.  
“No, but I’ll find a way!” Brainy said, determined. “I’ve got twelfth level intelligence, I’ll find a way to reverse this!”  
“Brainy…” Superman started to say, until the crystal grew out sharply again, this time covering his forearms, and right below his ribcage. “Brainy, I hate to say it, but this doesn’t look so good.”  
“Don’t say that,” Brainy said, pacing back and forth, thinking hard. “There has to be something we could do. I can’t communicate with Bouncing Boy, so contacting the other Legionnaires is not an option… I don’t have anything else that could get us out of here, and we can’t even get you off the ground… Maybe I can try to… No…”  
“Brainy,” Superman said sadly, “listen, there’s nothing we can do, right?”  
Brianiac looked up at him sadly. “Maybe something will come to me, okay? Don’t give up yet.”  
Superman smiled at him, as the crystal went up two more inches. “Sure thing.” He sighed. “Hey, Brainy….” He paused. “Now that I think about it, I don’t really know your real name.”  
“What?” Brainy said, still pacing.  
“I mean, you obviously know my name, but you’ve never really told me yours.”  
Brainy stopped pacing, looking embarrassed. “You’re right; I’ve never told you, huh?” He smiled up at Superman. “It’s Querl. My real name is Querl Dox.”  
“Querl?” Superman repeated clumsily. “Querl Dox. I like it.”  
“Thanks,” Brainy said, smiling. He soon went back to pacing around. “But there’s still the matter of getting you out of there…”  
“Brainy, wait, can’t we just talk for a bit?” Superman said. “Querl, I mean, I just thought about it for a bit, and I just realized how little I know about you.”  
“You wouldn’t be interested in all that,” Brainy said dismissively, waving a hand in the air as if to sweep the question away. “I just want to…” He got lost in thought at that moment.  
“Brainy, we both know this is a lost cause,” Superman said quietly. “Can’t you just…?”  
“Wait!” Briany said, looking up suddenly. “Maybe I could try and dig you out, if those crystals are growing underground. Maybe that’s why I can’t pull you out; it might be growing too deep in the ground! Maybe I can dig through. Still, that might take too long…”  
“It’s worth a shot,” Superman said sadly, as the crystal grew over his chest. “But… Brainy, it wouldn’t hurt to just talk. Maybe make the time pass by a bit with a story? How come you never really talk about yourself?”  
As Brainy inspected the dirt around Superman’s feet, Brainy sighed. “What would you want to know?”  
“I don’t know,” Superman said, “maybe just stuff about yourself. Like, what about your life before you became part of the Legion?”  
“Superman, there’s not much to say, okay?” Brainy muttered, digging through the dirt a bit. “My parents weren’t around, and you know about the whole Brainiac 1 thing,, and I went to Earth to separate myself from the other Coluans, and from my ancestor’s legacy… It’s not something you’d be interested in. Now, come on, let me focus.”  
“Querl, please, we both know there’s not much you can do for me,” Superman said. “Why do you keep trying to help me out?”  
“Because you’re my friend,” Brainy insisted. “And a Legionnaire.”  
“Querl, this is serious,” the crystals extended to just below Superman’s collar bone. “I just want to clear some things out before… something bad can happen.”  
Brainy sighed, and looked up at Superman. “Superman, please, don’t say that! I’m trying my best to help!”  
“Querl, it’s no use!” Superman said. “You should just try and get the criminal, and arrest him! Why are you wasting your time with me?”  
“Because I care about you too much to let you die!” Brainy exclaimed. “Superman, I’m trying my best to get you out of there!”  
“You really care that much, huh?” Superman said, craning his neck to look at Brainy.  
“Of course,” Brainy said. “I like you, Superman, a lot.”  
Superman looked surprised at that. For a second, Brainy regretted everything that had just come out of his mouth.  
“I like you too, Querl,” Superman said, with a small smile. He was starting to sound a bit short of breath.  
“No, Superman,” Brainy said, resting against the crystal. He knew he was about to regret everything he was about to say. “I mean, like, like. More than friends, Superman.”  
“You mean, like, love?” Superman said, sounding a bit confused.  
“W-Well,” Briany said, “I wouldn’t say love. I know we’ve been friends for a while now, and I know that I’ve had feelings for you for a long time now, but I wouldn’t go so far…” He shut his eyes and put his hands on his face. He turned away from Superman. “Don’t listen to me, Superman! I’m talking nonsense, it’s just that, you’re dying, and…”  
“Querl, I love you too,” Superman said, quietly and quickly.  
Brainiac didn’t dare move. “You don’t… What?”  
“I said I love you too, Querl,” Superman said, this time with more confidence.  
“You don’t mean that,” Brainy said quietly, his arms crossed against his chest.  
“I do,” Superman said, trying to take deeper breaths as the crystal finally reached his neck. “We’ve been friends for a while, Querl. I feel like I barely know you, and after being with you for a while, I just…” He blushed. “Querl, I care about you a lot. I just wanted to tell you, before this stuff can kill me.”  
Brainy sat down at Superman’s feet, smiling sadly. “Wow. I mean… wow. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time, huh?”  
Superman laughed weakly. “Yeah, this wasn’t the best time for a love confession. But at least I know that you’re gonna be with me in my last moments.”  
Brainiac looked up at him, smiling, happier yet sadder than he’s ever felt in his life. He turned away, looking down at the ground. There was nothing but footsteps. There had to be something, anything… Especially now… The dusty footsteps, leading towards Superman, were the only things on the ground, nothing else remotely like the crystal.  
Brainy stood up.  
“What’s wrong?” Superman asked.  
“There’s something very wrong,” Brainy said, staring at the ground, his back turned to Superman, still. “Are you absolutely sure you didn’t see the criminal we were after?”  
Superman’s eyes widened in surprise. “I’m sure; I didn’t hear them nearby, and this place isn’t exactly quiet, I would’ve heard them run by.”  
“Those footsteps lead right to us,” Brainy said. “They’re running in the opposite direction that you, when you ran inside this cave.”  
“You’re saying the criminal passed right by me?” Superman asked.  
Brainiac turned his laser to Superman’s face.  
“Querl!” Superman shouted. “What are you doing? It’s me!”  
“You said you ran here, then your foot got caught in the crystal.” Brianiac 5’s face was emotionless. “There’s no way those are your footprints, they’re too small, but they’re too large to be mine. And there aren’t any footprints like them behind you.” His face grew incredibly cold. “And you don’t love me.”  
Superman smirked. “It sure took you long enough to figure that out, Querl Dox.”  
“What’s the point of all this?” Brainy said, glaring even harder. “Who are you? Where’s the real Superman?”  
Superman and the crystals melted away into a single person: a regular Coluan male, using the matter around him to shapeshift. Rocks scattered around his feet.  
“You’re the shapeshifter?” Brainy asked. “But what was the point in all that? What gain would you get from that?”  
“You denounced your Coluan heritage to be more organic,” the Coluan said. “Your ancestors, and your planet, would be ashamed.”  
“I didn’t betray my home, I left it,” Brainy said, still holding up the laser on the palm of his hand. “So, what was all that? Just a sick joke?”  
“You love that Kryptonian,” the Coluan said in a mocking, yet still sort of monotone, voice. “But you knew deep down that ‘Superman’ back there was lying, right?”  
“That doesn’t matter,” Brainy said, trying hard not to let his words get to him.  
“But it seems your relation to Brainiac 1 influenced your decision to remove yourself from the rest of Colu. You’re pathetic.” The Coluan stepped back a bit. “You want to be organic like the rest of them, don’t you? But you’re an android.”  
“I don’t care,” Brainy said through gritted teeth.  
“Of course you do,” the Coluan said. “Because Superman would never fall in love with an android, right? You know you’re thinking it, and so do I. Organic beings don’t fall in love with computers, Querl Dox. And you know your heritage.” He pointed down the left cave. “Superman is being surrounded by blue Kryptonite back there; I’d get him soon, if I were you.”  
Brainy looked down the hall, then back to the Coluan. “But why? What was really the point in all this?”  
“I just wanted to remind you of what you really are,” the Coluan said coldly. “You will never be like them.”  
He teleported away.  
His face totally blank, Briany ran over down the cave, and found Superman, surrounded by small pieces of blue Kryptonite, as he lied on the floor. Brainy brushed them aside and gently helped him up.  
“Brainy, what’s going on?” Superman moaned. “I don’t know why, but I fell asleep…”  
“The shapeshifter used blue Kryptonite to make you sleepy,” Brianiac explained. “It’s okay, they teleported away, but they aren’t such a big threat, I’m not too worried. And this Kryptonite isn’t so strong, I wouldn’t worry about that either.”  
“He got away? What happened while I was asleep?” Superman said, as Brainy guided him out to the surface of the rogue moon, where their ship waited.  
“He tried to have me believe he was you,” Brainy said shortly.  
“Really?” Superman said. “What made you realize he was a fake?”  
“Just a little factual mistake on his part,” Brainy said, smiling grimly. “I have twelfth level intelligence, I figured it out alright.”  
Superman, still resting a bit on Brainiac, smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright, Brainy.”  
“Querl.”  
Superman furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”  
“I thought you might want to know my birth name,” Brainiac 5 said, smiling up at him. “It’s Querl, Querl Dox.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Is that it?”  
“Well, I don’t know if they have broken overpasses in the twenty-first century, but yes, this is definitely it.”  
Lightning Lad and Superman flew over the broken overpass, as several cars were trying to stop before they reached the end, though the overpass was still crumbling down to pieces…  
“I’m getting the cars, you get the rubble out of the way!” Superman swooped down and grabbed one falling car, and setting it down gently to the ground. Lightning Lad began to remove the rubble from underneath to prevent further damage.  
“What could’ve caused this?” Superman said, as he brought down two more cars to the ground.  
Lightning Lad grunted as he pushed over more rubble to the side, away from the pedestrians and cars. “I think it was a meteor. A small one.”  
“There’s no way we’re fixing that overpass, though,” Superman said, as he catched one car before it could slip down to the ground. “I think that’s it; not a lot of traffic. I mean, until now, at least.”  
He could see the crater down below, and flew down to get a closer look. “Doesn’t look so sinister and evil to me; looks like we can relax.”  
Lightning Lad moved the last chunk of overpass over, letting the drivers through. “Looks like everyone made it out okay, thank God. Thanks for helping me out, by the way, with those heavy-ass…” Lightning Lad looked at Superman, and stared.  
Superman blinked. “What’s up?”  
“What happened to your face?” Lightning Lad said, pointing at Superman’s cheek. “You’re all sunburned.”  
Superman gently touched his face; he didn’t feel any different. “Weird. Doesn’t hurt, though.”  
“I didn’t think Kryptonians could get sunburned,” Lightning Lad joked. “Guess it’s because you’re whiter than snow. Come on, Pasty, let’s go back and tell Bouncing Boy we got everything under control.”  
“Except for the property damage,” Superman pointed out.  
“Not our faults this time,” Lightning Lad said. “Feels pretty good to say that, actually.”  
Superman touched his face again as Lightning Lad flew away; he didn’t feel so different. Shrugging to himself, he flew after him.  
Behind him, the Earth police started to inspect the meteorite under the overpass, with others guiding the traffic away safely.  
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎  
Saturn Girl looked up. “You guys had a hard time with the overpass? Anything weird happen?”  
Lightning Lad smiled. “Nothing we couldn’t handle; it was just a meteorite.”  
Saturn Girl smiled at him too, though quickly frowned. “We got some bad news; some weird porcupine alien was caught stealing weapons and selling them to other criminals on Earth. We need you and Superman to go patrolling around and catch him.”  
“Anything we should know about him?” Superman asked.  
“He can shoot his quills to paralyze his targets,” Saturn Girl said. “He’s also pretty fast, but that shouldn’t be too hard for you two, right?”  
Lightning Lad stood up straighter, proudly boasting, “Don’t worry, we’ll catch that rat for you.”  
“Here’s a picture they snapped of him,” Saturn Girl said, showing them the picture on the monitor. It was a blurry, dark image of a humanoid with a rat-like face and a head full of quills. “He’ll probably be out near the same location tonight, so you two should get some rest before patrolling.”  
Superman happily lied down on a couch, with Brainy at his feet, typing away on a small laptop. He pressed his feet on Brainy’s robotic legs; Brainy was usually very warm from working all day, not cold like he thought robots would be.  
“I’m not a heated blanket,” Brainy said, though he was smiling, and didn’t move away.  
“If you say so,” Superman said sleepily, still pressing his feet against Brainy’s thigh. He drifted off, his face feeling surprisingly warm for a split second, though he didn’t think much of it, as he drifted off to sleep.  
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎  
As the alien scurried off, his eyes darted left to right, watching out for security cameras and witnesses. He held his cash underneath his orange coat, making sure his footsteps were as light as possible…  
“The rats in this city get pretty big.”  
The alien scowled up at Superman, who was blocking out the moonlight with his body.  
The alien wasted no time; he turned his back to Superman and shot out several of his poisoned quills; he heard the impact of the quills going into the walls, the concrete ground, and shattering the street lamp. Smirking, he turned around…. And saw nobody there.  
He felt a strong blow to the head and fell down hard on the ground, and could see Superman’s red cape from the corner of his eye.  
Superman put his foot on top of the alien’s back, below his quills, and smirked down at him. “This is really pathetic.”  
“Hey, get off me!” the alien sneered, squirming under Superman’s foot. “Let me go!”  
Superman smirked down at him… and kicked his foot, making the alien roll over several times and stopping when he hit the broken street lamp.  
“Get out of my sight,” Superman said, smiling cruelly. “You’re not worth my time, rodent.”  
The alien stared at Superman for a bit, wondering if he was serious, then suddenly scampered away, his footsteps echoing a bit. It started to rain.  
“Wish these idiots would stop making me do these pathetic patrols,” Superman grumbled to himself, the rain getting heavier. His hair lost its volume as the rain dampened him. He sweeped his bangs aside as he walked back to the base.  
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎  
“What the hell is your deal?” Lightning Lad roared, as Timber Wolf held his arm, stopping him from attacking Superman.  
“Lightning Lad, I’m sure Superman had a good reason for letting the alien go,” Phantom Girl said, then gave Superman a hard look. “Right, Superman?”  
Superman leaned against the wall cockily. “I got bored.”  
“Excuse me?” Phantom Girl said. “Superman, this is serious! Why would you let that alien go?”  
“Maybe because he wasn’t worth my time?” Superman said. “Really, making me go after some overgrown hedgehog? That’s a job for cops, not superheroes.”  
“Unless you’ve forgotten, a superhero is like a cop,” Lightning Lad said. “What’s your deal?”  
Bouncing Boy and Brainy looked at each other. “Why do you think Superman did that?”  
Brainy shrugged. “I don’t know. This behavior is strange; Superman’s not like this, usually.”  
“What do you know what I’m usually like?” Superman said loudly, looking over at Brainy and Bouncing Boy with a smug smile. “You two just stay on those monitors all day like a bunch of LEETs with no lives.”  
“I have no idea what that means, and I’m still really offended,” Bouncing Boy muttered to Brainy. Brainy frowned.  
“Superman, is there something wrong?” Brainy asked. “What happened?”  
“Nothing,” Superman insisted. “I’m feeling better than ever. If you guys are done crawling up my butt, I’m gonna go get some fresh air.”  
As Superman walked out to everyone’s surprise, Brainy and Lightning Lad glanced at each other.  
“That was a dick move,” Timber Wolf muttered, letting Lightning Lad go.  
“Just let him go for now,” Brainy said. “We can always get him back later. Lightning Lad, what are you thinking?”  
“That wasn’t Superman,” Lightning Lad said. “Maybe that was an imposter.”  
“He couldn’t have gotten in, if he was an imposter,” Brainy pointed out. “Perhaps something happened when he was out getting the criminal from his patrol. He was just fine before he went out to patrol; maybe the quills had an effect on him, somehow.”  
“What are you planning?”  
Brainiac 5 sighed. “I guess I’ll have to take over Superman’s patrol shift tonight.”  
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎  
When the rodent-like alien went around to sell his weapons and get his money, he was almost expecting to see Superman again. Instead, he was brought down by a giant green robot.  
“Your quills won’t work on me,” Brainy said, still in his combat mode, grabbing the rodent by his coat collar. “Now, tell me: what happened with Superman? What did you do to him?”  
Brainiac and the rodent were on top of a building for privacy purposes. He was tempted to threaten to drop him, but he didn’t feel that was necessary. Yet.  
“Nothin’!” the rodent squealed. “He was beating me up, then he let me go for no reason! I swear, I didn’t even bribe him or nothin’!”  
“What happened?” Brainy demanded. “What did you see? What do you know? What happened to Superman?”  
“Nothing happened; this is just me.”  
Brainiac dropped the rodent, and looked behind him; Superman was standing right behind him, his face hidden in the darkness.  
As the rodent scurried down the building, Brainy turned back to his humanoid form. “Superman, where have you been?”  
“Having a bit of fun,” Superman said, smirking. “What’re you doing messing with that joke?”  
“Superman, please, I want to know what’s wrong with you,” Brainy said, reaching out for Superman’s arm. “I’m worried, you haven’t been acting like yourself.”  
“You’re worried?” Superman said, almost mockingly.  
Brainy seemed surprised at that. “Of course, Superman. I don’t know why you’re acting like this, but if-”  
“That’s a funny thing to hear from a computer,” Superman mocked.  
Brainy stopped talking. “Superman, please don’t-”  
“No, this is great!” Superman said. “You really think you can just hang around a bunch of humans, and you’ll become one of us?”  
Brainy tried not to lash out. “That’s not true. I don’t want to be a human.”  
“Then why are you here, on Earth?” Superman said, sweeping his arms around, gesturing to the whole city. “Why aren’t you on Colu? Why did you disconnect yourself from the other Coluans? Why did you decide to become a hero on Earth? You just want to be like us, and you will never be a human. You’re just a computer.”  
Brainy’s face was frozen in a frown.  
Superman smiled. “To think I used to have a crush on you...”  
Brainiac’s eyes widened.  
“Oh, please, don’t get your hopes up.” Superman frowned now. “There are so many reasons why it wouldn’t work. Want me to list the reasons?”  
Brainy said nothing.  
“For starters, we’re living in different timelines,” Superman said. “Tell me: how did you think a ten-century-apart relationship would work, smart one?” He crossed his arms. “And what happens when we get together? We can’t stay together, you’d mess up the timeline, being with Superman from the past.”  
Brainy was beginning to frown.  
“And guess what?” Superman said. “You’re an android. An android with artificial feelings. You really think you could understand love? You’re a machine, Brainiac 5. Tell me, how are we supposed to be together? I’m organic, you’re a machine. You think we could be together like that, a man dating a machine?”  
Brainiac’s frown deepened. “I thought-”  
“That all that wouldn’t matter?” Superman interrupted. “That we could make it work? Do you want to know the sad truth, Brainy? I’m going to tell you.”  
Brainy was silent again.  
“You’re never going to be able to fall in love.” Superman said quietly, glaring at Brainiac. “And that’s because you don’t belong with anyone. You’re not a Coluan anymore. You can never go back there, can you? And you’re not organic, Brainy. You’ll never be like us. And you’ll never really be accepted by us. You’re just a computer, Brainy. No matter what you do, you’ll never be like us. And you know it, don’t you?”  
Brainy looked like he was trying hard not to look so sad.  
Superman crouched down a bit, looking at Brainy’s eyes. “Awww, did I make the little robot sad?” He stood back up to his full height. “See that? You can’t even cry properly. And you think you can be like the rest of us. Sorry to tell you the truth.” He flew off.  
Brainy stood there, still absorbing everything that Superman had said.  
“Brainiac 5, do you copy?” A tinny voice came from his Legionnaire ring.  
He lifted his ring to his mouth. “I’m here.”  
“What did that porcupine say? Did he have something to do with Superman’s dick moves?” It was Lightning Lad.  
“No, I don’t think it was him,” Brainiac said shortly. “But there’s something not right.”  
“Then get back to the base so we can try and figure out what’s up with him,” Lightning Lad said.  
“I’m coming,” Brainy said, his voice a bit shaky now.  
Lightning Lad caught that. “What’s up? You sound kinda upset.”  
“I’ll tell you later,” Brainy said quickly, then flew off.  
He always wondered what humans meant when they said they felt ‘heartbroken’.  
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎  
“Brainy, that doesn’t sound like Superman at all,” Triplicate Girl said. “There’s something seriously wrong here.”  
“I know,” Brainy said, sitting down on the couch, trying to look at nonchalant as possible.  
Saturn Girl didn’t need to read his mind to know what was on it. “Brainy, you don’t need to put on a brave face like that, I know you’re hurt-”  
“I’ll be fine,” Brainy said shortly. “Superman wasn’t himself.”  
“But we need to find out why,” Triplicate Girl said. She turned to Lightning Lad. “Lightning Lad, how about when you two took care of that overpass?”  
“I remember there was a meteor,” Lightning Lad said, “and Superman got real close to it. When I saw him come back, his face was all sunburned. I didn’t think anything of it, but now...”  
“That’s impossible,” Phantom Girl said, “he’s a Kryptonian, how could he get sunburned?”  
“We need to see that asteroid,” Brainy said. “Bouncing Boy, do you think you could go to the police station and bring back a sample of that asteroid? Maybe there was something in it.”  
“On my way,” Bouncing Boy said. “Timber Wolf, come with me, in case we see Superman.”  
“On it,” Timber Wolf said, walking out with Bouncing Boy at his side.  
“Brainy, are you okay?” Saturn Girl said quietly, sitting next to him. “You don’t look so good.”  
“Maybe I need to recharge my batteries,” Brainy said limply.  
“Brainy, I know we just got the general idea,” she said, “but if Superman is really acting like this…”  
“...Then he’s a danger to the people of Earth,” Brainy said, trying to get her off of her train of thought. “We need that asteroid.”  
“Brainy, do you want to talk about it?” Saturn Girl said, putting a hand on his back.  
“I’m fine,” Brainy said. “I just really need to think about some things for a bit.”  
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎  
“This is bad.”  
“Red Kryptonite?” Timber Wolf asked, as Brainy put the meteor chunk back in its box.  
“It’s almost identical to the green Kryptonite, except this seems to be affecting him differently,” Brainy said.  
“So, red Kryptonite makes Superman into a jerk?” Lightning Lad asked.  
“It makes him his polar opposite,” Brainy corrected. “It brings out the worst in him. And I’m thinking, if he’s still like this, out there…”  
“He could hurt somebody!” Phantom Girl said. “We need to find a cure for this!”  
“I believe the effects of this Kryptonite is temporary,” Brainy said. “If we could just have him contained long enough, the effects should wear off.”  
“So you want us to go out there and catch Superman?” Timber Wolf asked in disbelief. “Unless you haven’t noticed, that might be a difficult task.”  
“I have an idea,” Brainy said. He lifted his leg up, and pulled something off of them. He gently put them down on the table. “Take these.”  
“What are these?” Timber Wolf said, about to touch them, but Brainy slapped his hand away.  
“Be very careful,” Brainy warned. “They’re poisonous. They can paralyze you. Maybe, if you could get these on Superman, you can get him here, and we can keep him contained until the red Kryptonite effects wear off. Those were strong enough to break through me; I’m sure they’ll get through to Superman.”  
“We’ll try it out,” Timber Wolf said. He, Phantom Girl, and Lightning Lad flew off. Saturn Girl was still looking at Brainiac.  
“Brainy?” she asked gently.  
“I’m going to my room,” Brainiac said shortly, his back turned to her. “I need to replace the parts on my leg.”  
❤︎❤︎❤︎❤︎  
About 3 hours of paralysis later, Superman was back to his normal self, though quickly passed out after that. Brainy refused to come out of his room. The others started to worry over Superman, who was strapped to a table for the whole night and morning. Brainy went down at dawn to see Superman, though nobody dared to follow him.  
It took a while for Superman to awaken, and he awoke with Brainy looking down at him.  
“Brainy?” Superman said weakly, his eyelids feeling heavy.  
“It’s me,” he said shortly.  
“Brainy, what…?” Superman was about to ask, when his memories of the previous night came back to him. “Wait… Oh no, Brainy…”  
“The effects of the red Kryptonite were only temporary,” Brainy said. “You’re perfectly fine; you only turned evil for a few hours. We got you contained last night. You didn’t hurt anyone last night.”  
“Yes, I did,” Superman said, sitting up. “Brainy, those things I said…”  
“I know, I was there,” Brainy said. He was totally monotone.  
“Brainy, wait,” Superman said. He stood up. “I remember what I said, and Brainy, I’m so sorry. All those things I said, that wasn’t me.” He frowned. “But, Brainy, those things I said, I know they were harsh, and I don’t mean them. But…”  
“They were things you actually thought at one point,” Braint said shortly. “They were based on truth.”  
“No, Brainy,” Superman said, grabbing Brainy’s arm gently. “Yes, I know I might think some of those things, but I don’t really believe in them. That red Kryptonite just brought out the absolute worst in me.”  
“I’m not mad at you.” Brainy said. “I understand what happened.”  
“But there’s one thing I said I really did mean,” Superman said, his hand going from Brainy’s forearm to his hand.  
“When I said I liked you, that wasn’t a lie,” Superman said quietly. “That part was true.”  
“Superman,” Brainy began, though Superman interrupted him.  
“Brainy, don’t let that stuff I said get to your head,” Superman said. His fingers interlocked with Brainy’s. “I know you probably won’t say yes, but…”  
“You’re right, I won’t.” Brainiac looked up at him. “Superman, I need time to think. All those things you said, I don’t hate you for it, but it made me think about some things.”  
Superman sighed. “I get it.”  
But Brainy smiled, just a bit. “I like you too, Superman. A lot. I mean it. But right now, I just feel like I need some time off from all this.”  
Superman frowned. “You’re leaving the Legion?”  
“No, of course not,” Brainy said. “But is it okay if you and the others just left me alone, for just a bit? I just want time to think by myself.”  
“Sure thing,” Superman said, and slowly pulled him into a hug. Brainy seemed a bit tense at first, though he let his head rest against his chest, and Superman could feel the warmth coming from his body.   
“I’ll be in my room,” Brainy said, “call me in case of an emergency, though.”  
As Brainy walked back to his room, he saw the other Legionnaires staring at him. This one of the few times he was thankful that he wasn’t organic, since he couldn’t shed tears.


	3. Chapter 3

This is set in an alternate universe so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
“You mean to tell me that you built your own son?”  
“A successor,” Brainiac 1 corrected. “In the case that Superman ever succeeds in destroying me for good. He will pass on my legacy.”  
Lex Luthor looked down at the surgery table, with a short, human-like figure covered by a white cloth. “Congratulations. I mean, most people would’ve used their holidays to spend time with their family, but I guess this is the next best thing you could do for Christmas.”  
“He is connected to myself, and to my computers,” Brainiac said, grabbing the white cloth. “This will truly be a monumental moment, cemented into history. The day that Brainiac 1 has created his successor: Brainiac 5.”  
He unveiled his creation: a youthful-looking robot, no taller than five feet and two inches, with shoulder-length, blond hair and a thin body. He wore a black-and-purple jumpsuit with a matching cape. His arms and legs were slightly disproportioned, with the forearms and lower legs longer and thicker.  
“Five?” Luthor repeated. “What happened to two, three, and four?”  
“Failed experiments,” Brainiac said with little concern. “Two, three, and four are failed prototypes. Five, however, is my greatest creation yet, and will not fail me. He will have my twelfth level intelligence and new powers. But he must be trained to be my successor.”  
“So you called me over so I could be with you when your son was born?” Luthor joked. “I’m flattered.”  
Brainiac ignored him as he began to activate Brainiac 5 with his computer. “I needed you here in case he went on a murderous spree. He could have used you as target practice.”  
Lex Luthor frowned. “Funny.”  
As the computer and the cables started to turn on, Luthor cringed a bit. “Doesn’t this seem like a bad idea? In the movies, creating life in a robot always goes wrong. You know, murderous sprees and all that?”  
“I have installed a failsafe switch,” Brainiac said. “If Brainiac 5 goes against his programming, I can shut him down permanently with the same computer that brought him to life.”  
The cables and computer stopped, and Lex Luthor and Brainiac 1 looked down at the robot.  
“I don’t think it w-” Brainiac 5 suddenly shot upwards, and his eyes glowed purple, with small white pupils. He stood up from the table, and Brainiac 1 walked up to him.  
“Greetings, Brainiac 5,” Brainiac 1 said. “I am Brainiac 1, your creator.”  
“And technically your father,” Lex Luthor added.  
Both of the Brainiacs stared at him.  
“That is Lex Luthor.”  
“An enemy?” the robot asked.  
“It depends,” Luthor said, smirking.  
“Understood,” Brainiac 5 said blankly.  
“Huh, he’s an emotionless bag of bolts, just like you,” Luthor said.  
“Brainiac 5 will not have emotions,” Brainiac 1 said. “He has the capacity to learn them, but they are not useful to our plans.”  
“What job do you have for me today, Brainiac 1?” Brainiac 5 asked flatly.  
“I will be trying to create an artificial Kryptonite for our greatest enemy: Superman,” Brainiac 1 said.  
“Superman,” Brainiac 5 repeated.  
“You must steal some of the items I need in Metropolis,” Brainiac 1 said. “You know what you need to grab; it is already in your internal computer.”  
“Understood,” Brainiac 5 said, nodding. He walked off.  
As he left, Lex Luthor shook his head. “You spent months creating a son, and the first thing you do is make him fetch groceries? Not even a birthday present?”  
“His ‘birthday present’ is that he lives,” Brainiac responded flatly. “Though that could change, if he cannot do his job properly.”  
Lex Luthor shrugged. “If you say so.”  
-  
Brainiac 5 had already gotten a hold of the plutonium when the alarms sounded, and he had to make a break for it on foot, though his robot body was faster than the human security.  
“Brainiac 1 did not give me flight powers,” Brainiac 5 mused to himself, as he ran further from the security. “This mission would be easier with flight; perhaps I should ask him to install them to my body once I have returned.”  
“Stop right there, Braini-” someone said, though stopped mid-sentence.  
Brainiac 5 look up at the figure blocking the sun. “Brainy?”  
It was Superman, of all the people to run into. A teenager, probably a few inches taller than himself, wearing his usual blue-and-red superhero costume, with the big red “S” on his chest.  
“You are Superman, my creator’s greatest enemy,” Brainiac 5 observed. “You are the one we will one day eliminate.”  
“Not if I have any say in it,” Superman said. “Now, how about you put that down? Or I might have to take it from you, small fry.”  
“My name is Brainiac 5,” he said, as he dodged a punch from Superman. “I will one day follow in my father’s footsteps.”  
“Oh?” Superman said, dodging Brainiac 5’s hand-laser. “And what’s that?”  
“Destroying you,” Brainiac 5 said emotionlessly, narrowly missing a kick to the stomach.  
“Like that’s ever gonna happen,” Superman said, grabbing Brainiac 5’s jumpsuit, and slamming him into the ground.  
“That’s enough, Brainiac 5,” said a familiar voice. Brainiac 1 entered the scene, and grabbed the plutonium that his son dropped. “We do not have anything further to do; we are needed elsewhere.”  
“You were so scared of me, you make yourself a servant just so you wouldn’t have to come face-to-face with your arch-nemesis?” Superman said mockingly, though his body was tense.  
“You should be learning to fear the name of Brainiac, human,” Brainiac 1 said, as Brainiac 5 slowly got up from the ground, his limbs dented a bit. He made another move to grab Superman-  
Bang!  
Superman punched a bit harder than he would’ve, leaving Brainiac 5 to go flying back, way past Brainiac 1, and to go straight into a light pole, leaving a nasty dent on his face. He didn’t get back up. A few sparks flew from his face.  
Brainiac 1 hovered over, and grabbed his creation by the cape. “This is not the last you’ll see of us, Superman.” Brainiac 5’s eyes were no longer glowing, and the dent on his head was deep. “You will pay for ruining my creation.” He flew off, with Superman knowing he couldn’t go after them.  
-  
“This diagnosis indicates that Brainiac 5 will function normally,” Brainiac 1 said.  
“Good to know,” Luthor said. “What happened to him?”  
“He fought with Superman, but he is not ready to face him yet,” Brainiac 1 stated. “He may have my twelfth level intelligence, but he has much to learn.” Once again, he turned on the switch to activate Brainiac 5.  
This time, however, Brainiac 5 arose slowly, and looked around. He smiled when he saw Brainiac 1. “Father!” He went over to hug him. “You saved me, father!”  
Brainiac 1 stood there, confused over the gesture. Lex Luthor wasn’t far behind. “Father?”  
Brainiac 5 smiled up at him. “You’re my father! You created me, that makes me your son!”  
“So, remember what I said about robots and emotions not mixing?” Luthor said, though Brainiac 1 just stared.  
“This changes nothing,” Brainiac 1 said, lightly pushing a still-smiling Brainiac 5 away. “He will continue to be my apprentice.”  
“I want to help you, father,” Brainiac 5 said cheerfully. “I want to experience everything that I can!”  
“You can start experiencing how to upgrade the machinery here,” Brainiac 1 said coldly. “And you will have to learn your enemy.”  
“I have to learn about Superman?” Brainiac 5 asked with a highly curious tone.  
“You must learn how he fights and behaves,” Brainiac 1 said. “You could have been permanently damaged when you first fought him. You must learn about your enemy to fight him.”  
“I will make you proud, father!” Brainiac 5 said, enthusiastically.  
“He seems a bit too cheerful to be your son,” Luthor said to Brainiac 1 under his breath, as Brainiac 5 bent over the wires in the room.  
“I cannot stop his emotions,” Brainiac 1 admitted. “But I will make him control them. Now, we will be busy with our work; you should leave.”  
-  
“Father, the humans seem to dislike us,” Brainiac 5 said gently, as he observed two wires. “When I stole that plutonium, everyone was yelling at me, or running at me, wanting to hurt me.”  
“That is because humans do not understand us,” Brainiac 1 said.  
“But they enjoy Superman,” Brainiac 5 stated.  
“Superman is the enemy,” Brainiac 1 said. “One day, you and I will eliminate him.”  
“Father, am I allowed to go outside?” Brainiac 5 asked. “To see the humans? I am very interested in them.”  
“No,” Brainiac 1 said firmly. “You may have powers that even I do not possess, but you are not ready for the responsibility that my legacy will have in store for you. You can only go outside to get the materials we need. Now, back to work.”  
-  
“But why do we want Superman dead?” Brainiac 5 said, labeling the beakers that Brainiac 1 had set up.  
“He is trying to stop me from achieving my goals,” Brainiac 1 said simply.  
“And what are those?”  
“Destroying his home.”  
“I think I understand why he would want to stop you from achieving your goals.”  
“Stop asking me questions, Brainiac 5.”  
“But why?”  
“Because.”  
“That is not a proper answer.”  
“Get back to work, Brainiac 5.”  
-  
Sometimes Brainiac 5 would browse the internet on his computer whenever there was not any work to be done, or whenever he finished early on whatever project his father wanted him to complete. It was part of his training to learn more about Superman, and that was precisely what he was doing. By reading every news article, watching every video, clicking on any links that could lead to information about Superman.  
Superman saving a cat, Superman saving a child from a burning building, Superman saving a group of people from a collapsing bridge… Superman was everywhere.  
He wondered what it was like to be admired. Brainiac 1 did not admire him, and neither did the humans, judging from the one time he went outside.  
Brainiac 5’s purple eyes trailed the computer screen over several images of Superman, many of them with him posing heroically, his cape swishing behind him in the wind.  
There was no more work for him to be doing that day, he wondered…  
-  
“Please, my children are still inside!” a woman cried, pointing up at the burning building.  
“My baby’s in there, too! You have to go in there!”  
Brainiac 5 had just barely taken some time to absorb the beautiful city when he heard and saw the fire going on.  
There were many firemen already on the case, though the fire was already causing the building to collapse in some parts, and he could faintly hear the sound of crying, coming from inside the building.  
He knew his father would not approve. But his father was not in the vicinity…  
Hovering in through a window, thanks to the advanced belt that he and his father worked on, Brainiac listened closely for the sound of a crying baby. Running through the building, he kept a look-out for any sign of human life, until he ducked into one room…  
Right there, still in her crib, was a crying baby, whose crib was dangerously close to the burning curtains…  
Brainiac 5 snatched up the baby in his warm, robotic arms and shielded her from the ashes falling down. He stared at the baby for a bit. She blinked up at Brainiac 5, and smiled.  
“You’re welcome, little one,” Brainiac 5 said gently, before turning to exit. There was still one more child inside the building, somewhere.  
Brainiac 5 kept a look-out in every room on the top floor, though could not find the other child. He then turned to the stairs, hoping that he could find the other child the floor below…  
...and came face-to-face with Superman himself.  
It took a while for the picture to sink into Superman’s brain. Brainiac 5, covered in ashes, looking like a deer caught in the headlights, cradling a baby, who looked highly content to be in his arms.  
Superman carried a young boy in his arms, who dug his nails into Superman’s cape when he saw the unfamiliar robot staring at Superman.  
“I wanted to help,” Brainiac 5 said sheepishly.  
Superman looked a bit dumbfounded. “L-Let’s go return these two to their parents…”  
It didn’t take long for them to reach the ground, and to reunite the children to their worried mothers.  
“Oh, thank you Superman,” the first mother said, hugging her toddler tightly. “Thank you so much.”  
“And thank you too,” the other woman, with the baby, said. She was looking at Brainiac 5. “Are you his sidekick?”  
“I’m not anything,” Brainiac 5 said simply. “I just grabbed the baby.”  
“And saved her life,” the woman said happily. “I can’t thank you enough!”  
Brainiac 5 smiled, feeling happy, oddly enough.  
“I feel like we should talk,” Superman said, pointing down to the beach. “I have lots of questions.”  
-  
“So, your dad made you so you could be his successor?”  
“Yes, that is mainly the reason why I exist.”  
“But you have emotions.”  
“An accident, thanks to you.”  
By the time the fire was put out, Superman and Brainiac 5 had taken to walking around the beach, with Superman buying himself an ice cream cone.  
“But you don’t want to be his successor,” Superman said.  
“I do not understand his motives,” Brainiac 5 admitted. “It is almost like he wants the people of Earth to despise him. I do not understand this. And everyone on Earth seems to like you.”  
“It comes with being a superhero,” Superman said, shrugging. “I like to help people in need.”  
“I have seen your heroics on the computer,” Brainiac 5 admitted. “I am curious about how humans interact; I am not allowed to leave the lab where I was created.”  
“Do you even like being with Brainiac 1?” Superman asked gently. “You must know about all the bad stuff he’s done before, but you don’t seem bad.”  
“He gives me work to do,” Brainiac 5 said happily. “I like doing work; I get to tinker with technology. Father has even allowed me to create my own inventions, such as this belt that allows me to fly.”  
“But?” Superman said.  
Brainiac 5 sighed. “But I want to do more than just work; I want to be liked, like you. Brainiac 1 is not a good person.”  
Superman smiled. “I like you, Brainy.”  
Brainiac 5 smiled at that, but tilted his head in confusion. “Brainy?”  
“It means you’re really smart,” Superman said. “Seems like a fitting name for you.”  
“I have a twelfth level intelligence,” Brainy said proudly. “Of course I am brainy.”  
Superman smiled. “But can you leave Brainiac 1?”  
“I would like to,” Brainiac 5 admitted. “I do not see much of a purpose in staying with him. He wants to do bad things, but I don’t.”  
“But wouldn’t you stop working, if you leave him?” Superman asked. “Aren’t you, like, a part of him?”  
“No,” Brainiac 5 said simply. “I am not controlled by him. At least, not since you hit me.”  
“And you’re really a completely different person from Brainiac 1?”  
Brainy nodded. “Of course. I was built to be his successor should he be killed. But I do not think he anticipated me learning any emotions.”  
“So why can’t you just leave?” Superman asked.  
“Brainiac 1 would not let his invention on the loose like that,” Brainy said. “He would want to destroy me if I went against my programming.”  
“Why were you out here, anyway?” Superman asked.  
“I wanted to see what Metropolis looked like,” Brainy said. “I only got to see it that one time I had to steal for my father.”  
“And what happens when you get back to Brainiac 1?” Superman asked, looking worried.  
Brainy thought about it. “I suspect he will be very displeased. But I am prepared for the worst. I know my father.”  
Superman nodded, not really knowing if he understood. “Want some ice cream?”  
“I am ninety-five percent computer,” Brainy stated. “I do not need to eat, though I do have a sense of taste.”  
“Well, you can have the rest of mine,” Superman said, handing him the cone. “It’s good, try some.”  
“Okay,” Brainy said, taking the cone curiously. He stared at it for a bit before licking it. He seemed to like it, considering how enthusiastically he was eating.  
Superman held in his laugh when he wiped a bit of ice cream from Brainy’s nose. “See? Told you it was good.”  
“I’d like to experience more of regular human life,” Brainy said wistfully. “But first, I have to face my father.”  
“Are you gonna be okay?” Superman asked.  
“I’ve had a plan for a few weeks now,” Brainy said slyly. “You are talking to a Brainiac, after all. I think that I have considered all possible variables, and am prepared for anything he could do to me.”  
-  
“Your emotions have begun to influence your programming, Brainiac 5. And not in a good way.”  
Brainiac 1 looked at the monitor, as Brainiac 5 laid down on the table he was created on, hooked up to several wires.  
“It was an accident, fath- Brainiac 1,” Brainiac 5 said. “My emotions got the better of me, and I could not control my actions.”  
“You are lying, Brainiac 5,” Brainiac 1 said. “It is not in your programming to lie to your creator.”  
“I can change, father,” Brainiac 5 said. “I will never do a good deed in my life ever again! From now on, I will only serve you!”  
“You cannot promise that,” Brainiac 1 said. “It seems that my experiment has failed. It is time to use the failsafe.”  
Brainiac 5 looked up at his father, hurt. “Father…!”  
“It is the logical solution,” Brainiac 1 said, typing away commands. “You were not created to help Superman.”  
“You would do this to your own son?” Brainiac 5 asked shakily.  
“You are an experiment,” Brainiac 1 said simply. “And you failed. Goodbye, Brainiac 5.” He typed in the command to activate the failsafe.  
Within a few seconds, Brainiac 5’s eyes stopped glowing, and his body went limp.  
“How unfortunate,” Brainiac 1 said. With that, he covered the body up with a white cloth, and turned off the lights, leaving the room.  
It took a few minutes for the purple and white glow to come back to Brainiac 5’s eyes. “Oh, how fortunate! I did manage to get rid of the failsafe, after all.” He broke free from the table he was strapped to. He went to his computer, and started typing away.  
“This is very risky,” Brainiac 5 said worriedly. “But there is a chance this upgrade will end well.” He took off his belt, then placed it beside himself, on the table. He went over to the shadows, and picked up something larger than himself, covered in a white cloth.  
“I hope Superman likes the changes I have made,” Brainiac 5 said, smiling as he laid down the covered object on the table, then hooked it up to himself. He lied down next to it, and began the download.  
-  
“Look, it’s Superman!” someone in the crowd said, and the people down on the streets began to cheer when they saw the familiar red cape.  
Superman quickly swooped down to save the poor window washer who was grabbing onto the high rise for dear life. The two elastics on the left side had collapsed completely, though Superman caught the man, at the very moment he lost his grip.  
“Thank you, Superman,” the man said, shaking the teenager’s hand enthusiastically. “You saved my life!”  
“It’s no problem,” Superman said, though looked up again when he heard the crowd gasping. The third wire had snapped, and it looked like the fourth wasn’t so far behind…  
Suddenly, someone flew by, grabbing the high rise platform from the bottom, and gently flying down to set it on the ground safely.  
The crowd cheered at the mysterious hero. Superman stared at them.  
The hero was a robot; made of green metal, wearing a purple jumpsuit that only exposed his head and fingers. He had short, blond hair, and purple-pink eyes with white irises, and three connected dots on his forehead and uniform. He was probably five feet and five inches, about the same height as the teenagers around them.  
As the crowd dispersed, Superman approached the mysterious new hero. “Haven’t we met before?”  
The robot smiled. “Have you forgotten about me already, Superman?”  
Superman grinned. “Brainy! You look different, what happened?” His grin faded. “I’m gonna take a wild guess, and say that things with Brainiac 1 didn’t go well.”  
Brainiac 5 frowned. “It was exactly as I predicted: he said that I wasn’t his son, and tried to deactivate me permanently.”  
Superman put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Brainy.”  
Brainy looked up at him, smiling. “But it’s a good thing I removed that failsafe. And just in case I was still connected to Brainiac 1 somehow, I made myself a new body.” He looked shyly up at Superman. “How does it look?”  
“You look perfect,” Superman said, making Brainy blush. “So, what does this mean? You’re definitely not going back with Brainiac 1.”  
“I’m not sure, but at least I won’t be an emotionless supervillain like my father,” Brainy said. “He will probably not want me to live, but I can always fight back. And now, I can experience what it is like to live. I have you to thank for that!”  
Superman looked guilty. “By punching you really hard.”  
Brainiac 5 smiled. “But thanks to you, I can choose what I want to do! Thank you!” Against his better nature, he jumped up and hugged Superman, holding him tight.  
Superman was surprised at the sudden hug, though eagerly returned it. “It’s all part of being a superhero.” He held Brainy in his arms a bit, as Brainy continued hugging him.  
Brainy nuzzled himself into Superman’s warm body happily, before pulling back suddenly.  
“What’s the matter?” Superman asked, putting him down.  
Brainy rubbed at his eyes, and found liquid from them.  
“Oily discharge,” Brainy said, clueless to what was actually happening. “Perhaps I should run a diagnostic on my new body.”  
Superman smiled. “Oily discharge, right.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Brainy, I made fresh eggs, want some?”

“No.”

“How about some bacon?”

“No.”

“Orange juice?”

“No.”

“Brainy, you need to eat  _ something. _ ”

It was a normal day for the Legionnaires, with them sharing breakfast early in the morning. Brainy, instead, was typing away on his laptop, as Superman cooked his own breakfast.

“I’m busy.”

“Brainy, work can wait, you need some breakfast.”

“I’ll take some chamomile tea.”

“That’s it?”

“I have lots of updates for Computo.”

“You’re  _ always _ updating Computo,” Triplicate Girl said from across the room, eating her own breakfast.

“It’s important,” Brainy insisted, as Superman heated up some water for his tea. “Computo is an important part of the Legion Headquarters.”

“Don’t you want to take a break?” Superman asked, dipping the tea bag in the steaming cup of water. “You look tired.”

“I’m fine,” Brainy insisted. “I don’t need as much sleep as you guys do.”

“But you still need to sleep,” Superman pointed out. “How many hours did you sleep last night?”

“Two or three,” Brainy said nonchalantly.

“Brainy, it’s not healthy to sleep so little,” Superman said, giving him his tea. “Even if you are a robot.”

“I just want to update Computo,” Brainy said. “Then I’ll take a nap, if it’ll make you all feel better.”

Purple Triplicate Girl nodded. “Come on Brainy, you work so hard on Computo all the time, you need sleep.”

“Don’t you mean, he needs to recharge?” Lightning Lad mocked. White and Orange Triplicate Girl frowned at him.

Brainy closed his laptop. “Fine, I am going to my room to  _ recharge _ .” He sent a brief glare at Lightning Lad, who smiled back fake-sweetly. He closed his laptop and walked off to his room.

“Don’t mind him,” Lightning Lad said to Superman, who looked worried. “He gets grumpy like that when his battery’s low.”

“Is Brainy always working like that?” Superman asked timidly.

“Usually,” Purple Triplicate Girl said. “He doesn’t get a lot of sleep with that screen glued to his face.”

“I wanna go check up on him, to see if he’s not just working again,” Superman said, abandoning his breakfast. “Where’s his room?”

“I’ll show you,” Lightning Lad said. “I wouldn’t bother, though, Brainy never lets anyone in his room.”

“Why not?” Superman asked, getting up to follow Lightning Lad.

“Doesn’t want us going through his stuff, I guess,” Lightning Lad shrugged.

“I just wanna check up on him,” Superman insisted. “Brainy’s always tinkering with stuff and working on Computo. It’s like he never sleeps.”

They got to Brainy’s room’s door. It was closed, of course.

“Brainy?” Superman said, knocking. “You in there?”

No response.

“Brainy, we’re coming in, is that okay?” Superman asked. Again, no response.

Superman opened the door.

“It was unlocked?” Superman asked.

“I think you just broke the knob,” Lightning Lad pointed out. “Whatever. Brainy?”

They looked inside, and found that Brainy’s room had  _ tons  _ of technology lying around. The room was an absolute mess, with wires, bits of scrap metal, and computer parts lying around the desktops and floor. It was dark, except for the computer monitor at the back giving off a creepy green glow.

“You’d think he’d clean up a bit better,” Lightning Lad said.

“Where’s his bed?” Superman asked. “How does Brainy sleep if…?” He stopped when he saw the big chair at the back.

They found Brainy at the very back of his room. He was sitting on a big, rounded chair, with several wires hooked up to the large monitor at the back. His eyes were closed, and his head looking downwards.

“What do you know?” Lightning Lad whispered. “He really  _ does  _ recharge.”

Superman frowned at him. “Come on, Brainy’s sleeping, we should leave him alone.”

“Come on, I wanna check this out,” Lightning Lad said, tiptoeing around Brainy’s chair. “Very few people have been in this room and lived.”

“Ha, ha,” Superman said flatly, following him. He looked at Brainy’s face; he looked a lot less stressed when he was asleep. He brushed a bit of Brainy’s bangs away to show his face.

“Jeez, what is all this stuff?” Lightning Lad asked, picking up some small, half-built devices. “You’d think Brainy would clean all this junk up if he’s not gonna finish them.”

“It  _ is  _ pretty messy,” Superman said, looking at several GameBoy-like machines on the table of various colors. “Come on, I don’t wanna wake him up, we should just leave now.”

“Check this out,” Lightning Lad said, looking at the still-glowing monitor. “The dork  _ types in binary _ .”

“Lightning Lad,” Superman whispered, as Brainy started to twitch his fingers. “We need to go.”

“Jeez, he could at least turn this off before he goes to bed,” Lightning Lad said, pressing a big button on the table.

Suddenly, the button began to crackle with electricity.

“Lightning Lad, what did you-?”

_ ZAP. _

Brainy almost woke up, though sleepiness dragged him back from opening his eyes, and he hung his head, not even noticing Superman and Lightning Lad disappearing in a flash of light.

-

“What did you do?”

“I guess we must’ve teleported somewhere.”

They seemed to be in some strange void. The sky was dark green, with a few stars, and a floating, metal pathway, which they were now standing on. It was fairly cold.

“What do you think this place is?” Superman asked, looking around.

“I dunno, but wherever we are, it’s interfering with our Legion rings,” Lightning Lad said, twisting the ring left and right, though getting no response.

“So, what now?” Superman asked. “This place doesn’t look inhabited.”

Just then, they saw someone wandering around farther down the metal pathway. They seemed to be dancing.

“I guess this place isn’t so empty,” Lightning Lad said, walking over. Superman followed him.

“Hey, can you tell us…?” Lightning Lad called out, though paused when he got a better view of the person. “ _ Brainy _ ?”

Superman blinked. It  _ was  _ Brainy; running around, a grin on his face, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. The purple part of his jumpsuit had a slightly pinker hue to it.

“Hi, guys,” Brainy said, half-running, half-hopping over to hug Lightning Lad, then hug Superman, who blushed.

“What are you doing here?” Superman asked.

“I dunno,” Brainy said cheerfully. “What are  _ you  _ guys doing here?”

“We really have no idea where we are,” Lightning Lad said. “Do you know how we can get out of here, wherever this place is?”

“Sure!” Brainy said, as he held Superman’s hand and pointed it to a metal arch, just barely visible from where they stood. “Just go through there! But I don’t think you two will want to…”

“I think we do,” Lightning Lad said, as Brainy stood on the tips of his toes to give Superman a quick peck on the cheek. As Superman blushed, Brainy ran off, his arms stretched out, going through the arch.

“I’ve never seen Brainy that happy,” Lightning Lad confessed. “I’m very afraid.”

“That  _ was _ weird,” Superman said, still blushing and smiling.

“Come on, lover boy,” Lightning Lad teased, walking towards the arch. “Let’s follow him out of here.”

Walking through the arch, they suddenly found themselves in a whole new location: a grassy field. The sun warmed them up, and several cherry blossoms were scattered about.

“Great,  _ now  _ where did Brainy go?” Lightning Lad said, looking around.

_ “Here.” _

Lightning Lad and Superman jumped at the small squeak coming from behind them. Brainy was right behind them, looking particularly small, somehow. He looked up at them with a forlorn expression, his once-pink jumpsuit now a dull gray-blue.

“Where the hell have you been? Changing your clothes?” Lightning Lad complained. “I thought you said this was the way out of here!”

Brainy’s lower lip began to tremble…. Then he started to cry. He sniffled as tears leaked down his face, his arms hugging his torso as he looked down at the ground.

Lightning Lad looked truly uncomfortable now. Superman briefly glared at him, then slowly walked up to Brainy.

“D-Don’t cry, Brainy, it’s okay,” Superman said soothingly, gently petting Brainy’s hair. “Just ignore Lightning Lad, okay?”

Brainy wiped away his tears, and sniffled. “O-Okay…”

Superman wiped away Brainy’s tears. “Better?” Brainy nodded.

“Alright, now let’s…” Superman started, though suddenly found metal walls surrounding them.

“What’s going on, now?” Lightning Lad said, as they stuck close together.

“We’re in a maze,” Brainy muttered. “I think I know the way out of here. Here, follow me…” He walked off slowly.

“Brainy’s really moody lately, don’t you think?” Superman whispered, as Brainy walked on.

“He’s acting weird,” Lightning Lad responded. “Wonder what’s up with him? And what’s up with this place?”

-

“...And I’m sorry I ate your baby carrot sticks that time, Superman,” Brainy muttered. “I should’ve asked, but I thought you wouldn’t mind.”

“It’s fine, Brainy, really,” Superman said tiredly. He turned to Lightning Lad. “He’s started apologizing for things I don’t even remember happening.”

“And I’m sorry for-” Brainy started, but was interrupted.

“Brainy,” Lightning Lad finally said. “It’s fine. Whatever it is, we forgive you.”

“O-Okay,” Brainy said, finally stopping his speech, and looking up at the very end of the maze. “We’re here.”

“Finally,” Lightning Lad said. Strangely enough, there were two statues at the end of the maze. The statues were of Brainy’s fighting form, one smiling and one frowning, both incredibly tall.

“That’s weird,” Superman said, “why are there statues of…?” Superman turned around to talk to Brainy, though he had disappeared.

“Great,” Lightning Lad groaned. “Gone again.”

Just then, the two statues began to move. The two combined into one, and started to stomp towards Superman and Lightning Lad.

“What’s up with this place?!” Lighting Lad yelled, trying to electrocute the statue, though it had no affect on it.

“I dunno, but I hope Brainy has a good explanation,” Superman said, flying up to punch the statue in the face. It was surprisingly sturdy; he only managed to chip at the statue’s face.

-

Brainy woke up suddenly from his chair. He slowly got up, and immediately noticed the open door.

“Oh, no…” Brainy groaned, looking around for signs of an intruder. Though one quick look around showed that nobody moved anything. He wondered if he left it open, but he knew he left it closed…

He looked through his monitor, knowing that there must be some recording of what happened. He looked through the security footage, and found two familiar figures going into his room…

“Oh,  _ no, _ ” Brainy groaned again, then went down to his chair, hooking up his wires again. He had to get them out, and soon…

-

“What is up with this statue?!” Lightning Lad said, zapping it for the umpteenth time, though again, it had little effect.

“It’s practically indestructible,” Superman complained, as another punch only chipped at its surface.

“I’ve got it!”

Something came flying out of nowhere, kicking the statue from behind. It was Brainy, once again in a new outfit; the purple in his outfit replaced by a deep green color, this time. The statue spun around, bringing its foot down to stomp on Brainy, though Brainy floated away before he could be crushed.

“Is that all you got?” Brainy teased, then punched the statue on the back of his knee, breaking through and destroying his lower leg.

The statue collapsed, breaking into tons of pieces as it hit the ground. Brainy let out a victorious cry as he swooped down in front of Superman and Lightning Lad. “That was awesome! High five!”

Superman and Lightning Lad stared down at Brainy, not reciprocating the high fives.

“Alright, what’s up with you?” Lightning Lad asked, pointing an accusing finger at Brainy. “You’ve been acting weird all day!”

“What do you mean?” Brainy said, grinning. “I feel  _ awesome _ !”

Suddenly, the gray-clad Brainy appeared beside the green-uniformed one. “I don’t know why you two are so upset…”

“You two need to relax,” Brainy said, coming up from behind, hugging both Superman and Lightning Lad.

“Three Brainys?” Lightning Lad asked aloud, putting a hand on his forehead. “I think I’m having a nightmare.”

Superman had had enough. “Alright, I think it’s time we get an explanation. Where are we?”

“In my mind.”

The three miscolored Brainys turned to see the regular Brainy, in his black-and-purple jumpsuit, walking up to them.

“Brainy?” Superman asked. “Is this really you, this time?”

“What you’re seeing right now are different parts of my personality that live in my mind,” Brainy explained, as the three disappeared. “Happy, Sad, Brave… There’s more of them out there.”

“We’re in your mind?” Superman asked, shocked.

“I thought there’d be more stuff in here,” Lightning Lad joked.

Brainy didn’t look very amused. “You guys must’ve digitized yourselves into my mind while I was sleeping. Think of it like being inside a computer.” His eyes narrowed. “Now, can I ask  _ why you two were in my room, without permission?” _

Superman looked a bit guilty. “We just wanted to see if you were really sleeping, because I was worried that you’ve been working too hard, but then Lightning Lad started messing around…”

“Whatever I did was an accident!” Lightning Lad insisted. “And how exactly are we in your mind?”

“You must have projected yourselves into my mind from my computer when you pressed that button,” Brainy explained. “By the way, this is a  _ huge  _ invasion of my privacy. Not to mention sneaking into my room.”

Superman and Lightning Lad looked ashamed. “Listen, it was just a weird accident…”

“Let’s just get out of here,” Brainy said, turning around. “I know the way out. Now, come on, we  _ need _ to leave.”

They walked off, though were quickly stopped when they felt the ground shake.

“ _ Now  _ what’s going on?” Lightning Lad asked, looking around.

“Oh, no,” Brainy sighed. “Another part of my personality.”

“ _ Get out! _ ” a deep voice boomed out. “ _ What do you think you’re doing?!” _

Another Brainiac 5 appeared, this time the purple in his jumpsuit replaced with blood red, and his eyes pure red with white pupils, instead of purple. He was twice the height of regular Brainy.

“What’s that?” Lightning Lad asked.

“Red Brainiac 5,” Brainy sighed. “You can guess what he’s like.”

“ _ You can’t hide from me forever! _ ” Red Brainy said, picking up a large chunk of metal and throwing it at the three.  _ “You’re just delaying the inevitable!” _

“What’s he talking about?” Superman asked, as they dodged the metal.

“Nothing I’d like to share,” Brainy said gently. “All I’m going to say is that I do not have a good relationship with my family.”

The red Brainy suddenly shifted into a much larger form, which blocked out the light from the sun, leaving his face in the shadows. Though his body and face changed shape into something bulkier and wider.

“Brainy, you have issues,” Lightning Lad sighed, as they dodged a swipe from the red Brainy.

“How do we beat it?” Superman asked. “Is that thing so big because you’re mad at us?”

“It’s much more complicated than that,” Brainy 5 admitted. “We need to beat it in a fight to get through, but I don’t think we’re strong enough.”

“What about your personality things?” Superman asked.

“None of them are strong enough to beat that thing, not even Bravery,” Brainy said sadly.

“What about all together, with the two of us?” Lightning Lad said. “Maybe we stand a chance!”

Brainy paused to think. “It’s worth a shot.”

Suddenly, the other parts of Brainy’s personality ran up; Happy, Sadness, Bravery, along with more Brainys with different-colored uniforms joining them.

“We need to fight Red Brainiac,” Brainy instructed. “You all know what to do?”

The other Brainys nodded, and the different facets of Brainy’s personality flew over to fight the Red Brainy.

“Why is the Red Brainy so powerful?” Superman said, as the three of them charged after the other Brainys. “Are you really that mad, that the Red Brainy grew like that?”

“It’s really complicated,” Brainy said quietly. “It’s not exactly Anger, it’s more than that, and it’s kind of personal…”

Superman got the hint. “Right, you don’t need to share if you don’t want to.”

The other Brainys surrounded the Red Brainy, punching, kicking, and shooting at it mercilessly, though the Red Brainy was very strong.

As Lightning Lad shocked the Red Brainy, Superman threw several punches to its face, while Brainy turned into his combat form and shot at its legs.

It wasn’t enough; the Red Brainy simply swept the other Brainys away with his arm, and kicked Superman and Lightning Lad away. 

“We need a new plan,” Superman said, as they all hovered over Red Brainy.

“How about we combine you guys, somehow?” Lightning Lad asked. “I mean, you guys are all the same, maybe you can kinda fuse together or something, right?”

“That’s not a bad idea,” one Brainy, wearing black and yellow, said. 

“We  _ are _ in Brainy’s mind,” Superman pointed out. “Try it out!”

The other Brainys circled around the original Brainy, and they all combined into one being. They glowed, and the glowing Brainy became larger and larger, to become the same size as Red Brainy. When the glow died down, Superman and Lightning Lad looked up at a giant Brainy, in a black-and-white jumpsuit.

“I am getting  _ sick _ of you,” White Brainy said, as he walked up to Red Brainy. White Brainy grabbed Red Brainy by the neck, and threw him away from the exit, another arch. Red Brainy fell to the metal pathway, and started to shrink down to his regular size.

“What happened?” Lightning Lad asked, as the White Brainy split apart.

“I got him under control,” Brainy said, as his other forms walked off. “I’ll never defeat Red Brainy; he’s just a part of me. But I can keep him under control.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Superman asked.

“I’m fine,” Brainy insisted. “Besides, you guys should get out of here; you’ve invaded my privacy for long enough.”

“Brainy?” Lightning Lad asked quietly. “Who was that big Coluan guy? Is he… your dad?”

“No,” Brainy said simply. “Come on, let’s just get out of here.” The three walked through the last arch.

In another flash of light, Superman and Lightning Lad returned to Brainy’s room, next to the monitor.

Brainy was asleep in his chair, though quickly woke up to see Superman and Lightning Lad, safe and sound.

“Good, you two made it out alright.” He walked up to the monitor, and pressed a button on the right, turning it off, leaving them with only the light from the hallway.

“Sorry about snooping around, Brainy,” Lightning Lad said, sincerely for once. “I wasn’t trying to mess with your stuff like that.”

“It’s fine,” Brainy said, smiling at the two of them. “You guys helped me out back there, so thank you.”

“We’ll leave you here to rest,” Superman said, as he and Lightning Lad started to go.

“Wait, I’m hungry,” Brainy said, going after them. “Why don’t we go and make something to eat?”

Superman smiled. “Want me to make you a late breakfast?”

Brainy smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Well, how about some lunch?” Lightning Lad said, looking at the clock in Brainy’s room. “Looks like we’ve been invading your privacy for a few hours.”

“Want me to make you guys something?” Brainy asked. “As thanks for helping me.”

“You’re running on three hours of sleep,” Superman said, patting his head. “I’ll cook you up something, instead.”


	5. Last One Out of New Metropolis

**This chapter seems a lot better if you play Mike Krol music while reading.**

“Bouncing Boy,  _ please _ stop bouncing, it’s distracting me.”

Bouncing Boy reverted to his human form. “Sorry, I’m just excited! Lightning Lad’s gonna take me to a show! Saturn Girl had to patrol, so he’s taking me instead!”

Brainy looked up from his puzzle. “What kind of show?”

“It’s this thing called a mosh-pit,” Bouncing Boy recounted excitedly. “You listen to music at a concert, and afterwards, you shove people around for fun! It’s a 21st century thing.”

Brainy smiled weakly. “Yeah, sounds… exciting.”

Bouncing Boy picked up a puzzle piece. “You playing with that puzzle Clark bought you?”

Brainy looked down at the mess on the floor and smiled. “Yup! It’s got 15,000 pieces! And no corners!”

Bouncing Boy smiled weakly. “Well don’t let me stop your plans, you wild animal, you.”

“Where’s everyone else?” Brainy asked, suddenly noticing that the others were now gone. He’d been working on that puzzle for a while now.

“Timber Wolf, Superman-X, and Phantom Girl are patrolling too, and Duo Damsel left to the show early,” Bouncing Boy said.

“What about Superman?” Brainy said, continuing his puzzle.

“I guess he’s napping in his room,” Bouncing Boy shrugged.

“Brainy, drop that nerd stuff you’re doing,” Lightning Lad said, walking into the room in casual attire. His superhero outfit was replaced with a dark blue hoodie over black jeans.

“It’s a  _ puzzle _ ,” Brainy said, frowning.

“Whatever, just stop what you’re doing,” Lightning Lad insisted. “You’re coming to the Mike Krol concert with me.”

“What?” Bouncing Boy asked. “You said I was going instead!”

“I scored an extra ticket, so our poor little nerdling wouldn’t spend another night cramped in here,” Lightning Lad said. He ruffled Brainy’s hair, though Brainy slapped his hand away.

“I don’t know,” Brainy said. “I don’t think I’m into  _ shoving people around for fun _ .”

Lightning Lad smirked. “Stop being such a dork, some fresh air will do you good!”

“Maybe you should invite Clark,” Brainy said, continuing his puzzle.

“I  _ already  _ invited Clark!”

The boys turned around to see Duo Damsel, now in a casual purple-and-orange dress and sunglasses, standing behind the couch.

“I thought you already left for the concert,” Lightning Lad said.

“I wanted to pick out the right outfit,” Lourno said simply. “Plus, I bought two tickets for myself, and then remembered that I technically only count as one person, so I thought Clark might wanna go! I made him go change his clothes so he could fit in with the rest of us.”

“Come on, Brainy, you wanna be left alone here with a puzzle?” Lightning Lad asked.

Brainy quickly thought up an excuse. “I don’t have anything to wear.”

Lightning Lad knew which button to push. “Fine, I guess if you don’t wanna come, I won’t make you.”

Brainy relaxed. “Thank you.” He continued his puzzle.

“I guess this kinda  _ cool _ stuff just isn’t your style,” Lightning Lad said, putting a lot of emphasis on  _ cool. _

Brainy looked up, frowning again. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, you do all that nerdy stuff, like puzzles and whatever,” Lightning Lad said. “Something  _ cool  _ like a concert isn’t really your style, you know?”

Brainy stood up. “Are you implying that I’m not  _ cool _ ?”

“I’m not implying anything,” Lightning Lad said lightly. “Now, we’ll just leave you here with your puzzle…”

“Wait, I’m coming too!” Brainy said.

Lightning Lad smirked. “You wanna be part of the cool kids, now?”

Brainy frowned. “Don’t push it.”

“Wait, you’re going in  _ that _ ?” Bouncing Boy asked, pointing at Brainy’s uniform.

Brainy looked down at his jumpsuit. “What’s wrong with my outfit?”

“It’s just that, we’re all going in civilian clothes,” Duo Damsel said. “Don’t you wanna wear something that will let you blend in?”

Brainy blushed. “You know I don’t have a lot of civilian clothes.”

“Then I’ll let you borrow something of mine,” Duo Damsel announced cheerfully. “Come on, I’ll help you pick something out!”

“I don’t think Brainy would like thigh-high boots and orange dresses,” Lightning Lad said.

“But I’m the one closest to his size,” she pointed out. “Come on, I’ll make him look  _ cool _ for you guys.”

* * *

“That bad boy look is actually pretty fitting on you,” Bouncing Boy pointed out.

Brainy looked down at the leather jacket that Duo Damsel had given him, which he wore over his own lime green T-shirt and jeans. “I have to admit, I  _ do _ like this jacket. But are these sunglasses necessary? It’s already starting to get dark out.”

“It adds to the coolness factor,” Bouncing Boy said, as he, Brainy, and Lightning Lad got out of the cruiser to stop for snacks. “Is that Duo Damsel’s jacket?”

“No, she said she borrowed it from Phantom Girl and forgot to return it,” Brainy said.

“Interesting,” Lightning Lad said, trying hard not to laugh at the back of Brainy’s jacket, which read: “SEX MACHINE.”

“Well, we’re all set on snacks, here,” Lightning Lad said, holding several bags of snacks. “What do you want to drink?”

“I think I’ll try soda,” Brainy said, picking out a red can from the soda machine.

“Wow, no tea?” Bouncing Boy said. “You really  _ are _ turning into a bad boy.”

“Thank you,” Brainy said, “I’m starting to like this whole  _ cool _ thing.”

“By the way, who’s Mike Krol?” Bouncing Boy asked, as Brainy waited for his soda to dispense, though nothing came out, prompting him to stick his hand in the machine.

“Some singer who says his stuff is ‘garageband-like’,” Lightning Lad said, as Brainy accidentally broke the flap in the soda machine. “Everyone says he sounds really early 2000’s.”

“Sounds like something Clark would enjoy,” Brainy said, as he looked curiously at his soda. He took a small sip and almost spit it back out. “That’s  _ very  _ different from tea.”

“You guys are stopping for snacks too?” Lourno said, walking in. “I finally got Clark to put on something cool.”

“I really doubt he had anything cool in his closet,” Garth mocked.

“He didn’t,” Lourno said, smiling. “That’s why we raided  _ your  _ closet for clothes.”

“Hey!” Garth said. “Why  _ my  _ closet?”

“You two are kinda the same size,” Lourno said, shrugging. She turned around. “What are you getting, Clark?”

Brainy turned around to look at Superman… and almost spit his soda out again.

Instead of the sweater vest or the cape, Clark had put on a tight-fitting T-shirt and black leggings, with a red flannel shirt, mostly likely one of his own, tied around his waist. He finished the look with blue high-tops.

“Nice, Clark,” Bouncing Boy said, “now you look like a real 31st century citizen.”

Clark smiled. “Thanks, Chuck.” He looked over at Brainy. “Hey, I like your outfit. You look like a cute bad-boy.”

Brainy seemed to forget how to use his mouth, so he nodded, instead. Bouncing Boy and Lightning Lad smiled at each other.

“Let’s go, I wanna get there early,” Lourno said, tugging at Clark’s arm.

Clark waved goodbye to the others, though Brainy looked very numb as he waved.

“Come on,  _ cool guy _ , we should head off to the concert, too,” Lightning Lad said. “Come on Brainy.”

As they hopped back in the cruiser, Brainy in the driver’s seat, Garth grinned over at Chuck. “So, is nobody else gonna talk about how hot Clark looked back there?”

Chuck smirked as Brainy started the car. “ _ Very  _ hot. Especially in those pants.”

“And his butt looked especially nice in those pants,” Garth said.

“ _ Very _ nice,” Chuck added.

“Can we not talk about butts while I’m driving, please?” Brainy asked.

“Why, are you getting distracted?” Garth teased.

“We don’t blame you,” Chuck said, “With the two of you looking so cute tonight, you should’ve asked Clark to be your date to the pit.”

“I couldn’t do that,” Brainy said, blushing.

“Brainy, you two are practically dating at this point,” Chuck said. “We see the way Clark keeps staring at you.”

“And we know about the stuff you do in the simulation room,” Garth added, making Brainy blush even more.

“You know you two could at least go on a real date together,” Garth said. “A mosh pit sounds like a fun date.”

“I’m not really a mosh pit kinda person,” Brainy said quietly.

“You’ve never even  _ been  _ to a mosh pit,” Chuck reasoned. “Maybe you’ll like it. It’s been awhile since you went out and had some fun, Brainy. Now’s your chance to have some fun with Clark.”

“You know I’m not used to this kinda thing, Chuck,” Brainy said. “I haven’t even driven a cruiser since I got my license.”

“Are you serious?” Garth asked. “How long has it been since you got your license?”

“Two years,” Brainy muttered.

“That might explain why you just ran a red light,” Chuck said.

“What?” Brainy said, turning around. “I didn’t see it!”

“Told you talking about Superman’s butt would distract him,” Garth said, grinning.

Things stopped being funny when they heard police sirens behind them.

“Crap.”

“Great, now we can’t make it to the concert,” Chuck said, slumping in his seat.

“All thanks to Clark’s fine booty,” Garth added.

Brainy was about to pull over, but then… “We are  _ going  _ to that mosh pit.”

“Brainy, we’re about to get pulled over,” Chuck said.

“No, we’re not,” Brainy said. “You guys wanted a cooler Brainiac 5, and you’re  _ getting _ a cooler Brainiac 5!”

Instead of slowing down, he stepped down on the gas pedal  _ hard _ .

He hovered past a few cliffs away from the rest of the cruisers, and the police followed. The ride started to get bumpy as Brainy swerved between other cruisers and streetlights.

“Guys, put on your seatbelts, I’m about to do something stupid,” Brainy said.

“Never thought I’d hear that coming from your mouth,” Chuck said nervously.

“This has to be the most badass thing you’ve ever done,” Garth said, though held on for dear life as Brainy spun the cruiser around, and landed clumsily behind a bunch of bushes. They heard the police sirens come… then go right past them.

“That… was amazing,” Garth said, patting Brainy on the back. “I’m so proud, our little nerdling has all grown up!”

“Even though he used up all the gas,” Chuck pointed out sadly.

Glancing over, Garth saw that Chuck was right. “Crap, now we gotta walk all the way there!”

Brainy said nothing; instead, he unbuckled his seatbelt, scrambled out of the cruiser, and started throwing up into the nearest bush.

“Oh, boy,” Garth sighed, leaning back into his seat.

Chuck frowned. “Looks like Brainy’s already all partied out.”

“And we haven’t even gotten to the pit yet,” Garth said, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Come on, let’s go check up on him.”

As Brainy emptied out his stomach, Garth put a hand on Brainy’s shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

“You alright, little guy?” Garth asked. “We got some mints in the car, for your breath.”

Then he noticed Brainy looking very sad. “This was dumb.” He started taking his jacket off. “All of this was a dumb idea!”

Brainy threw his jacket on the ground, then started pulling his shirt off his head. He had to sit down on the grass to take off his tight-fitting jeans. He pushed his sunglasses over his eyes and on top of his hair.

“You were wearing that over your hero outfit?” Chuck asked.

“Well,  _ duh _ !” Brainy said, though looked apologetic after snapping at Chuck. “I’m sorry, it’s just that…” He started to sniffle.

“Aw, man, Brainy, we’re sorry,” Chuck said. “We didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Garth looked uncomfortable. “Look, I’m sorry for calling you a nerd. You’re like, one of the coolest people I know! And I mean that, really! You know I just like to mess with you sometimes, but I still went too far today.”

“It’s not just that,” Brainy whimpered. “You’re right, I’ve been living on Earth for so long and I still don’t know how to act like a regular person. I came here from Colu so I can have a fun time and not act like some robot like the rest of my species, but it’s been years since I even did something not related to the Legion.”

Chuck and Garth stayed quiet, with only the sounds of hovering cruisers, distant music, and Brainy’s sniffling to fill the void.

“I can’t remember a single day where I’ve gone out with you guys for something that wasn’t Legion-related,” Brainy muttered, now sitting with his knees up to his chest. “And now that I got the chance to go to a concert with you guys, I messed it all up.”

The other two remained quiet, not quite knowing what to say.

“And I didn’t even get to ask Clark to be my date,” Brainy said, burying his face into his crossed arms.

“Come on, Brainy, one missed concert isn’t the end of the world,” Chuck reasoned.

“Okay, fine, you made us late for the concert and ran a red light,” Garth said, sitting next to him. “If you want, we can call a taxi. Maybe it’s not too late for us. And Clark’s probably still at the concert.”

“I don’t think I’m really cut out for this human stuff,” Brainy said sadly. “Maybe you two should go on without me. I think I’ll head back home. Besides, do you really think a Coluan is gonna fit in with a bunch of humans?”

“Brainy, yeah, you’re an alien, but do you really think anybody at a concert’s gonna care?” Garth asked.

“ _ Yes _ !” Brainy said. “I’m from a planet full of super-intelligent, emotionless robots that just work all day and don’t know the meaning of fun! And I should’ve just remembered that tonight, before coming out here.”

“Brainy, come on,” Garth said, nudging him with his elbow. “Put your jacket and pants back on, and let’s go party! I swear, you’re gonna have a great time!”

“ _ What if I told you that the world was gonna end... _ ” The distant music started getting louder.

“I think I’d rather go back to my puzzle like a good little robot,” Brainy said. “And leave the humans to do human stuff.”

“Come  _ on _ , Brainy, if you just-” Garth started, though Brainy cut him off.

“Tell me Garth, when was the last time you saw me  _ let loose _ and  _ have fun _ like a human? I’ve been on this planet for over  _ five years _ , and I don’t think I’ve been able to just be a regular teen, like the rest of you, no matter how much I…  _ SEX MACHINE? _ ”

Brainy had finally taken a good look at the back of his leather jacket, which was spread out in front of his feet. His face was pure shock as he looked down at the leather jacket lit up by the setting sun.

Despite his better judgement and the tense mood, Garth started to laugh. It didn’t take long for Chuck to start laughing, too. It took a while, but Brainy also started to laugh, harder and longer than the other two, laughing so hard that his stomach started hurting.

It stayed like that for a while, just the three of them laughing, sitting in the grass, before they noticed the sky getting darker.

“Come on, Sex Machine,” Garth teased. “It’s getting late, but I know I hear some Mike Krol music being played out there.” He grabbed Brainy’s sunglasses and put them over his eyes. “Isn’t there a certain guy with a nice butt you wanted to dance with?”

Brainy blushed, then smiled. “A  _ super _ nice butt.”

“ _ Boo _ !” Chuck yelled, though helped Brainy pull his tight pants over his jumpsuit. “Now we  _ know  _ you’re getting human influence, you’ve started making bad puns.”

“Come on, the concert’s right around the corner,” Garth said, taking the lead as the three walked on the mostly-empty sidewalk.

It was a fairly small stage, and it wasn’t very impressive to look at, though it had a nice feeling to it, with the many teens scattered around. And right there, on the outskirts of the crowd, was Clark, casually sipping a soda.

“I’m gonna ask him to dance,” Brainy said bravely, adjusting his jacket collar and sunglasses.

“You go for it, bad boy,” Chuck said, messing with Brainy’s hair.

Brainy ran over to Clark’s side, though Brainy had to tug at his sleeve in order to get his attention over the loud music.

“D-Do you wanna dance?” Brainy blurted out. Even  _ he  _ seemed shocked at what he just said.

“Oh, boy,” Garth groaned. “I’m scared to see how this is gonna turn out.”

“Like Clark would ever say no to Brainy,” Chuck said.

Clark blinked… then nodded. “Of course! I’d love to!”

“Really?” Brainy said, thinking it might be too good to be true.

Clark smiled down at him. “Yeah! We should probably start dancing before the mosh pit starts, though.”

Brainy smiled back, awkwardly. “Yeah, we should.”

The two of them just stood there.

“D-Do you know how to dance?” Clarked asked Brainy.

“N-No…”

“Me either.”

There was an awkward pause.

“Wanna go steal some of Chuck and Garth’s snacks and lie down on the grass?”

“Only if I get to play with your hair, Sex Machine,” Clark said, smiling as he put his hand around Brainy’s waist.

**STARRING BRAINIAC 5 AS REPRESSED NERD**

**LIGHTNING LAD AS ULTIMATE WINGMAN**

**BOUNCING BOY AS VOICE OF REASON**

**AND INTRODUCING SUPERMAN AS HIMSELF**


	6. Super Spooked

**It just occurred to me that this would’ve been great as a Halloween special but I didn’t wanna wait ten months to post this.**

“Oh, you guys still celebrate Halloween in the thirty-first century?”

Saturn Girl smiled. “Well, of course!” She twirled as her red cape swooshed around her. “Do you like my costume?”

“Well, I think I’d like it more if you didn’t steal that from my closet.”

Saturn Girl crossed her arms over the big red “S” on her chest. “I just wanted a really cool costume!” She smiled brightly. “Besides, everyone’s dressing as each other! It’s a thing we do here in the Legion!”

“Do you guys like my costume?” Phantom Girl flew in, happily wearing Timber Wolf’s costume. “I think it  _ suits  _ me!”

“You look adorable,” Saturn Girl said, smiling. “I was just gonna tell Superman about our plans tonight.”

“What plans?” Superman asked.

Brainy walked in, still wearing his regular outfit. “We’re going to a haunted house.”

Superman slumped down on the sofa. “Aw, really?”

Phantom Girl smiled. “Aw, Supey, don’t worry, we weren’t gonna leave you here alone! We were just about to invite you with us!”

Superman smiled weakly. “Guys, that’s really nice, but I don’t like haunted houses.”

Lightning Lad walked in, wearing one of Bouncing Boy’s suits. “Did I just hear right? Superman doesn’t like haunted houses?” He walked over and put an arm around Brainy’s shoulders. “Well, there’s a certain green Coluan here who would be very happy to hold your hand all night so you won’t get scared!” Brainy blushed as he shoved Lightning Lad away.

“No, that’s the problem,” Superman insisted. “I  _ don’t  _ get scared of haunted houses.”

Everyone stared at him.

“It’s true!” Superman said, putting his book down. “I can see every scare coming from a mile away! Plus, it’s hard to be scared of vampires and guys with chainsaws when you’re made of steel.”

“You’ve  _ never _ been scared of a haunted house?” Bouncing Boy asked, walking in in one of Lightning Lad’s suits. “Like,  _ ever _ ?”

“I’m  _ Superman _ , and haunted houses are all fake, anyway,” Superman pointed out. “I’ve been to some, but it’s just so predictable. ‘ _ Oh, I wonder what’s gonna happen if I approach this mysterious coffin in this creepy room with fake blood on the walls? Oh, gee golly, a jumpscare! I wasn’t expecting that at all!’ _ You know what I mean?”

“Come on, even Brainy gets scared of haunted houses!” Phantom Girl said, smirking, though Brainy did not look amused.

“I don’t get scared!” Brainy insisted. “You just…  _ surprised  _ me that one time.”

“Does this mean you don’t wanna come with us?” Bouncing Boy asked.

“Sorry, I just think haunted houses are boring,” Superman said, frowning. “Can’t we just have a movie night instead? At least I can get a rush out of that.”

Phantom Girl smiled evilly at her teammates.

“I don’t like it when you make that face,” Lightning Lad said. “That face scares me more than any haunted house.”

“Guys, what if  _ we _ made a haunted house,  _ just  _ for Superman?” Phantom Girl asked, ignoring Lightning Lad. “A little haunted house built to scare the  _ crap  _ out of him!” She grabbed Brainy by the shoulders. “And Brainy can organize it all!”

“Why me?” Brainy asked.

“You’re the one closest to Superman,” Phantom Girl pointed out, making them both blush. “Plus, you’re the smartest one here! You can whip up a haunted house real quick, right?”

“I’m okay with that,” Superman said, before Brainy could respond. “If it doesn’t scare me, at least I can pretend to be scared so I can hold Brainy’s hand all night.”

Brainy blushed. “Okay, but you guys really expect me to just make up a haunted house right now, and think up of everything necessary to scare Clark?”

“Yeah,” everyone said simply.

Brainy sighed. “Give me an hour to organize everything, then.”

“There’s the Brainy we all know and love,” Phantom Girl said, smiling. “Make it extra spooky, alright?”

“As spooky as I can make it in an hour,” Brainy said. “Make sure you wear casual pants you don’t like, you might end up urinating in them by the end of the night. That means you too, Superman.”

“I doubt it,” Superman said, “but I  _ will  _ hold onto your hand the whole night.”

Brainy smiled. “Deal.”

* * *

 

“Brainy, what’s with the blindfolds?” Phantom Girl asked as Brainy tied it over her eyes.

“It adds to the spookiness,” Brainy insisted. “We’re gonna cruise over somewhere really spooky tonight. And you guys not knowing where it’s gonna be is gonna make it extra scary.”

“Where are Bouncing Boy and Lightning Lad?” Saturn Girl asked.

“He and Bouncing Boy are part of the haunted house,” Brainy said simply, moving over to Duo Damsel and placed a blindfold over her eyes. All of them, excluding Brainy, were in casual civilian clothing.

“Is everyone coming tonight?” Superman asked.

“Timber Wolf and Superman-X didn’t want to come,” Brainy said, moving on to putting a blindfold over Saturn Girl’s eyes. 

“Can I just say that I am very concerned to be in a cruiser, with blindfolds on, and Brainy behind the wheel?” Duo Damsel joked.

“Very funny,” Brainy said, then sighed. “Well, I did the best I could under an hour. And Superman?”

“Yeah, Brainy?” he said, pulling the blindfold over his eyes.

“You promised you’d hold my hand the entire night while we’re at the haunted house,” he said, pulling the blindfold back down. “And I intend for you to keep that promise, alright?”

Superman smiled. “Of course.”

* * *

 

“We’re here. You can take the blindfolds off.”

Superman pulled off his blindfold, as the others did. “Is  _ this  _ it?”

It was a two-story house with a garage at the side, with pale green paint and a front yard littered with dead leaves. The paint was peeling a bit in some places.

“What?” Brainy said, as they all got out of the cruiser. “This is scary, right? It’s in a state of disrepair, that’s what all haunted houses look like.”

As Duo Damsel yawned, Saturn Girl shook her head. “Brainy, I get the feeling that Superman is not impressed.”

“Who’s house is this?” Superman asked. “You didn’t buy a house, did you?”

“Yes, Clark, I bought an  _ entire  _ house for the sole purpose of scaring you,” Brainy said sarcastically. “I’ll explain later. Give me five minutes to get myself ready,  _ then _ you can enter.”

“You could at least  _ try _ and sound a bit scarier,” Phantom Girl pointed out.

Brainy sighed, then raised his arms up as if he was about to pounce on them. “Fine. Give me five minutes to get myself ready,  _ then _ you can enter….  _ If you dare. _ ” He put his arms down. “Better?”

“Better.”

Brainy rolled his eyes, and walked inside.

Superman, Phantom Girl, Duo Damsel, and Saturn Girl waited around for five minutes, then decided to enter.

Before Saturn Girl could open the door, however, it burst open… and the four teenagers started to  _ laugh _ .

For whatever reason, Brainy had decided to put on a plastic, stereotypical ‘evil’ robot mask and painted his arms and neck silver to match. He had put fake wires on the mask and attached them to his neck and back. Over his superhero outfit, he wore a white lab coat with ketchup stains on the chest.

Brainy sighed hard through the mask. “Listen, this was the best costume I could whip up in an hour, just bear with me for a few minutes.” He put on his best ‘spooky’ voice. “Welcome, humans! I am Brainy-stein, an android whose body was made by the horrible mad scientist, Doctor Chuck Taine!”

Phantom Girl snorted. “Could he have not done a better job on those thighs?”

“TINYA!”

As the girls laughed, Superman tried to keep a straight face, though he still smiled. “I think that mad scientist did a  _ great _ job on his thighs! And the rest of his body!”

Brainy must’ve been blushing behind the mask. “T-Thanks, Clark.” He straightened himself up, and put on his ‘spooky’ voice again. “Now, come with me so we can tour through Doctor Chuck Taine’s horrifying lab!” He stopped the spooky voice again. “Clark?”

“Oh, right,” Clark said, and held out his hand for Brainy to hold.

As Brainy walked down the hall, the other four followed.

“Scared yet, Clark?” Duo Damsel asked, smirking.

“Only thing scary about this place is the flower-print wallpaper,” Clark whispered. Oddly enough, the whole house was completely furnished, with the living room having a sofa, tacky lamp, television, and coffee table. “I wonder whose house this is?”

They went into the kitchen, only to find Bouncing Boy standing there. For some reason his hair was white, most likely painted with white hair spray paint. He, too, wore a ketchup-stained lab coat over a black shirt and pants, and wore yellow kitchen gloves. His goggles were over his eyes.

“ _ Velcome, children _ ,” Bouncing Boy said in a terrible German accent. “ _ This is vhere I keep the human parts I need for my creations… _ ”

“The human parts, you mean,” Saturn Girl pointed out, “to make a…  _ robot _ ?”

Chuck and Brainy blinked, then looked at each other.

“You just said you keep  _ human  _ parts,” Saturn Girl continued, “But you made Brainy, who is a  _ robot _ .”

“I make humans on the side, okay?” Chuck said, speaking normally. “Brainy and I didn’t have a lot of time to plan this, so please, just roll with it so we can get to the scares.”

“It’s hard to be scared when you’re not making a lot of sense,” Saturn Girl said, as Duo Damsel and Phantom Girl tried hard to keep their faces straight.

Chuck crossed his arms. “Do you want to see a haunted house or not, Irma?”

Irma smiled gently. “Okay, I’ll keep quiet.”

Chuck went back to the bad German accent. “Now, vould you please stick your hands into this box, to feel the…  _ human eyeballs _ ?” He pulled out a cardboard box, with four holes facing the others for them to put their hands through.

“Chuck, there are holes in that box, we can see the bowl of peeled grapes,” Lourno said.

“I  _ told  _ you not to make the holes that big,” Brainy hissed into Chuck’s ear, still holding onto Clark’s hand.

“They have big hands, what else was I  _ supposed  _ to do?” Chuck asked.

“Do you guys need some more time to work this out?” Clark asked, trying not to laugh. “We can go back in the cruiser and wait.”

“No, we still have one more scare coming up!” Brainy said. “We gotta get it ready, though!”

“Brainy, you’re my best friend and my boyfriend and I love you,” Clark said gently, “but maybe this wasn’t the best idea.”

It was a good thing Brainy’s face was covered up, because he was wearing the biggest, dorkiest grin on his face from Clark’s words. “Listen, we already have the last scare prepared, just let us do this last one, then we’ll see if your pants are dry by the end of the night.”

“Gross,” Tinya teased.

“Shush,” Brainy teased back, letting go of Clark’s hand to prepare for the last scare. He walked off, leaving the five teens there.

“At least he’s trying,” Chuck said, shrugging.

“He might have a twelfth level intelligence,” Tinya said, “but he’s not good at scaring people.”

“But I guess that doesn’t matter to you,” Irma said, playfully elbowing Clark. “Because you get to hold his hand all night long!”

Clark smiled. “Maybe. But I might as well act scared for-”

“Oh, no! Something went wrong with this experiment!” Brainy yelled through the closet door. “It seems I’ve accidentally…  _ FUSED WITH MY TEST SUBJECT!” _

Brainy and Lightning Lad burst out of the closet together awkwardly, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Brainy had gotten one of his arms tangled with Garth’s prosthetic, as electricity sparked over both of their arms, making Garth and Brainy’s hair stand on end. Brainy’s arm looked partially dismantled, with some wires latching onto Garth’s arm. Both of them were screaming.

Clark, however, wasn’t screaming. “I guess I was a  _ little _ scared. Mostly anxious, I guess.” He smiled shyly. “It was a cool effect, though, I’d give it a six out of ten.”

Brainy sighed, as he removed his robotic parts from Garth’s arm. “Well, I did the best that I could in just an hour’s worth of preparation.”

“I mean, for something so rushed, it wasn’t so bad,” Irma said kindly.

“I guess you  _ kinda _ made me jump at that last thing,” Tinya added.

Brainy sighed, then held Clark’s hand again. “It was worth a shot.”

“I guess this means we can go back home and watch movies?” Clark asked.

Brainy pouted, looking down. “I guess.”

Clark grabbed Brainy’s chin and gently turned his face to look at his own. “And I can pretend to be scared at the horror movies, so you can cuddle with me all night?”

Brainy started to smile. “Throw in some hot chocolate, and we have a deal. Now, let’s get out of here.”

“Oh, grife,” Garth said, looking out the window. “I don’t think we’ll get out of here anytime soon.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Tinya asked, walking over to Garth.

“Someone messed up the cruiser,” Garth said, running outside.

The others followed, and they all could see that the cruiser was completely ruined; black spray paint on the windows, and dents on the hood, with smoke coming out of the engine.

“Did you see who did it?” Clark asked.

“No,” Garth said, grunting as he pried the car hood open. “I guess they must’ve busted the cruiser when we were doing the haunted house. Damn it!”

The hood finally opened up, and they could see the damage to the engine, which definitely looked broken beyond repair.

“Can you fix it, Brainy?” Chuck asked.

“I might be able to fix the engine, but there’s no way we can drive around with those windows,” Brainy pointed out. “Plus, we’re not carrying any tools to fix the car.”

“Can we call Timber Wolf?” Tinya asked.

Then the rain started.

“I’ll zeezee up TW,” Garth groaned, as the group headed back inside. He pulled out his phone, and walked off to the kitchen for some quiet.

“It’s gonna rain pretty hard,” Saturn Girl said, just seconds before they saw the lightning strike.

“You’re not planning anything else tonight, are you, Brainy?” Lourno teased. “This is the perfect environment for a haunted house, now.”

“If we just waited about ten minutes, we might’ve actually scared Clark,” Tinya said.

“Probably not,” Clark said flatly.

“Alright, Timber Wolf will be here in about an hour,” Garth said, walking back inside. “But it might take even longer, because there’s a thunderstorm starting. They say it’s gonna be nasty.”

They saw more lightning strike, and heard the loud thunder. It sounded closeby.

“Wow, this  _ is _ perfect haunted house weather,” Clark admitted, sitting down in a chair and letting Brainy sit on his lap, their hands still clamped together.

“I should’ve waited a bit longer to start the scares, then,” Brainy said, snuggling close to Clark.

“By the way, can I ask who's house this is?” Clark asked.

“It’s just an abandoned house,” Brainy said simply. “Nobody has lived here for a while, and I didn’t think anybody would care if I used it for a haunted house for the night.”

“So, we’re trespassing,” Tinya said simply.

“I only planned on using it for about an hour,” Brainy pointed out. “And nobody’s gonna care.”

They heard a distant bang.

“What was that?” Garth asked, jumping up. “I thought you said this house is abandoned, Brainy!”

“It  _ is _ ,” Brainy insisted. “That was probably nothing, maybe something fell over, calm down.”

“Brainy, if you’re trying to scare us again, it’s  _ not funny _ ,” Chuck insisted.

“I am sitting  _ right here _ ,” Brainy said. “It’s not me. Now stop saying that stuff, Chuck, you’re gonna scare everyone else.”

They heard another bang.

“There’s something in here,” Chuck squealed.

“Probably an opossum or something,” Brainy said calmly.

The lights suddenly went out.

“An opossum that chewed on the wires,” Lourno said. “It probably just…. Chewed on a wire and shorted something out.”

“Or it’s a ghost,” Garth pointed out.

“Shut up, Garth,” Tinya said, “it’s probably just a murderer.”

“ _ Tinya _ ,” Brainy snapped. “Alright, I’ve had enough, we’re all going down to the basement just so you guys can see you’re panicking over nothing.” He held out his free hand to Garth. “Give me your phone so we can use it as a flashlight.”

Garth handed over the phone, as the group of teens followed Brainy, who was still holding Superman’s hand. “Let’s go, just so we can confirm that there is nobody downstairs who is going to murder us.”

“Or stab,” Chuck said.

“Or maim,” Garth added.

“Be quiet.”

They opened the door to the basement, and saw stairs.

“Come on, let’s go downstairs,” Brainy said, as he started walking down the basement stairs, as everyone slowly followed.

“Who’s holding my hand?” Garth asked suddenly.

“Me,” Tinya said. “Sorry, I don’t wanna fall down the stairs.”

“I’m going to hold your hand also,” Chuck said, reaching over to grab Lourno’s hand, who happily took it. “I fully admit that it’s because I’m scared; I have no shame.”

“Clark,  _ you’re  _ not getting scared, are you?” Brainy teased lightly. “You are holding my hand  _ very  _ tightly.”

“I don’t want you falling down the stairs,” Clark said. Brainy kept smiling. “And why is your hand so warm and sticky?”

“Must be the silver paint,” Brainy said. “I’m a robot, I don’t  _ sweat _ .”

Once they were in the basement, Brainy turned the phone’s flashlight to get a good look at the room. “See? There’s nobody here.” He slowly rotated the phone in his hand so that they could get a better view.

“A GHOST!”

Chuck and Garth screamed at Tinya’s words, making Brainy drop the phone.

“You guys,” Irma groaned, “don’t  _ do  _ that, I nearly wet myself!” She grabbed the phone and turned the flashlight at the ‘ghost’.

“It’s just a cloak,” Brainy sighed, as Chuck and Garth detached themselves from Lourno and Tinya. It  _ was _ a cloak; so old and dusty, it was hard to tell that it was actually white in color.

“W-Why is it all ripped?” Chuck asked, looking it over. “And there are weird stains all over it...”

“M-Maybe it’s a costume,” Brainy said uncertainly.

They heard another bang from somewhere else… along with a long, ghastly moan that sounded like someone was in  _ pain _ .

“Let’s get out of here, this place is  _ haunted _ !” Chuck whimpered.

“Fine, we’re leaving,” Brainy said. “But I’m just going to go ahead and say that this place is  _ not _ haunted…”

“Whatever, just open the door!” Garth said, taking his phone and rushing over to the door, where he reached for the doorknob.

But it started to  _ melt. _

“Let’s  _ not _ go through that door,” Garth said, backing up and bumping into Chuck.

“We’re going back upstairs,” Irma commanded, as the teens rushed up the stairs. They hardly bothered to watch their steps on the creaky staircase.

“Brainy, what could’ve melted the door handle like that?” Clark asked, as they reached the top.

“I’m not sure,” Brainy said. “I’m not certain what creature or person living on Earth would melt a doorknob like that without being in the immediate vicinity…”

“It’s  _ ghosts _ !” Chuck insisted.

“Would you  _ stop saying that _ ?” Brainy asked impatiently. “Come on, let’s go in this room…”

Brainy pushed open a door adjacent to the basement, and the others peeked inside.

It was all empty, except for an old-fashioned wooden rocking chair with a single object resting on it: an old Raggedy Ann doll. With several knives stabbed into the back of its head.

Slowly, Irma closed the door.

“We’re not going in that room,” she said simply.

“ _ Haunted, _ ” Chuck said in an almost singing sort of way.

“ _ Chuck _ !” Brainy snapped.

“Let me see if I can read the thoughts of whatever’s following us…” She put her hands to her temples and began to concentrate.

The others stood there silently, waiting for her to finish.

“I can’t find  _ anything _ ,” Irma said, much to the other’s shock.

“You don’t know what’s following us?” Lourno said, shaking.

“I can’t read its mind or locate where it is or  _ anything _ ,” Irma said, “whatever it is… This is very strange...”

“Let’s go in the bathroom and think,” Brainy said, heading towards an open bathroom. They crammed themselves inside.

“Alright, so we  _ don’t  _ know what that person or thing is,” Brainy muttered, “and we don’t know  _ where  _ it is. All we know is that it’s after us, and that Irma can’t read its mind.”

“ _ Ghosts _ ,” Garth muttered. “It’s  _ ghosts _ , Brainy.”

“Ghosts don’t exist,” Brainy hissed.

“You said the same thing about magic,” Lourno pointed out.

“Magic  _ also _ doesn’t exist,” Brainy added.

Clark started to shiver. “It can’t  _ really  _ be ghosts, right guys?” He started to dig his fingernails into Brainy’s palms.

The others just looked at each other.

“What if it’s the ghost of the person who used to live here?” Chuck whispered. “And they don’t want us here?”

“They do  _ not _ exist!” Brainy snapped.

“Fine,” Garth said, throwing his hands up in the air. “What do  _ you  _ think it is, Brainy?”

“A murderer.”

“I can think of many reasons why that is just as bad, if not  _ worse, _ than a ghost,” Clark said, still clutching onto Brainy’s hand for dear life.

“Well do you want me to be honest, or to make you feel better?” Brainy said. “If you want me to make you guys feel better, I can just say it’s the wind. Is everyone happy?”

“Ugh, this stupid window won’t open,” Garth grunted, trying to open up the window.

“Why are you trying to open a window?” Tinya asked.

“For fresh air,” Garth replied sarcastically. “Why do you  _ think _ ? So we can get out of here without the murderer finding us!”

“Let me,” Clark said, going over and grabbing the window. Though he, too, could not pry the window open.

“Wow, impressive,” Garth muttered sarcastically.

“How is that even possible?” Clark said, looking down at his hands. “It won’t budge!” He stared intently at the window. “Guys, my heat vision isn’t working! I think my powers are gone!”

“ _ What _ ?” Lourno shrieked. “How is that possible?”

“Oh, no,” Chuck said, looking out the window and onto the yard. “Brainy, what is  _ that _ ?”

Brainy leaned over and saw that Chuck was pointing at gold-colored ore that lined the house; there were many chunks of ore of various size, and there was not a foot of space on the house’s walls that wasn’t lined with it.

“Golden Kryptonite,” Brainy said grimly.

“How’d they get so much of it?” Clark asked, looking down. “And how does it affect me?”

“Golden Kryptonite was said to be able to nullify your powers without causing you pain,” Brainy stated. “It was once fairly common ore, which explains why there’s so much of it. But I have  _ no idea  _ where they could’ve gotten it.”

“Brainy, could you  _ please  _ take off that dumb lab coat?” Lourno asked. “After what’s happened so far, it’s starting to freak me out.”

“It’s just ketchup,” Brainy stated, though took it off anyway. “You can even smell it on me.”

“Still freaky.”

He dumped the coat into the bathtub.

“I hear footsteps,” Chuck said suddenly.

They all stood there, all of them holding their breath, Clark grabbing tightly onto Brainy’s hand, as they heard distant footsteps.

“Let’s all try and be quiet and see if we can hear who or what that is,” Brainy whispered to the others, as they prepared themselves for a fight. “By the way, who brought their Legion rings with them?”

There was silence.

“I didn’t think we’d need them,” Tinya said nervously after a while.

“Me either,” Garth added.

“I forgot mine too,” Clark said.

“So did I,” Brainy admitted. “We might be in trouble here; none of us can fly.”

The footsteps got louder as the stranger got closer… and they stopped right when it appeared to be right outside the bathroom door.

Garth, once again, tried to pry open the bathroom window, this time with Irma helping him.

The knob started to melt again.

“We got it!” Garth said in relief. “Come on, we’re climbing up to the roof!”

“This is not very logical,” Brainy said, though the others started scrambling out. “It could just be a regular human murderer out-  _ Hey! _ ”

Clark had squeezed his large body through the window and was not pulling Brainy through, very easily considering how thin he was. He hefted him over his shoulder as he climbed up the roof with the others. It was still pouring outside, with the lightning still visible in the distance. Everyone started to get soaked.

“We’re on a roof with none of us knowing how to fly, and none of us has our rings,” Brainy pointed out. “We didn’t really think this through, did we?”

“Do you have any  _ better  _ ideas?” Garth asked.

“Oh,  _ no _ ,” Clark said, looking down. “Are you guys  _ seeing  _ this?”

Floating, cloaked figures started to circle the whole house. The cloaks were tattered at the ends, just like the one in the basement. Clark couldn’t make out any faces, arms, or legs, even though the lighting should have allowed him to look at their features. There was something about them that made his skin crawl.

“What  _ are _ they?” Tinya asked.

“I don’t know,” Brainy admitted.

Garth laughed nervously. “You don’t think that’s Timber Wolf coming to pick us up, right?”

The cloaked figures slowly raised their arms up…. And the grass in front of them  _ burst into flames. _ The flames were tall, nearly reaching the roof, and were lit well despite the heavy rain. The odd, cloaked figures started chanting.

“Oh my  _ God! _ ” Garth yelled, as the others screamed in panic. Clark clung to Brainy for dear life.

“This is  _ bad _ ,” Clark muttered. “We’re surrounded by something inside, trying to kill us, and something  _ outside _ , trying to melt us!”

“Let’s just get higher on the roof!” Brainy said. “Let’s get as high as possible while I think of a plan!”

Still holding onto Brainy’s hand, Clark climbed up the roof with the others with great difficulty, seeing how the rain was making everything hard to grab onto.

“And ideas?” Clark asked, as Brainy held on tighter to Clark for support.

“I’m not sure what to do without our flight rings,” Brainy said, pausing to wipe his drooping hair from his forehead and eyes. “If Tinya could possibly-”

Brainy’s footing slipped, and he started to fall downwards. Clark, thankfully, still had his strong grip on Brainy’s hand.

“It’s okay, I got you!” Clark said, not even daring to breath as Brainy looked up at Clark, terrified.

Below them, the odd cloaked figures looked up at Brainy, their faces still somehow hidden despite the flames in front of them. Brainy’s terrified face was lit briefly by the lightning.

“Thanks,” Brainy sighed, then smiled. “You  _ did _ promise me you wouldn’t let go of my hand all night.”

And then he started to slip.

Brainy’s eyes widened, and used his free hand to grab onto Clark’s hand. Clark’s hand was drenched in rain water and the stupid silver paint on his hands. Clark almost attempted to grab Brainy with his other hand, though it was the only thing keeping him on the roof.

“Brainy, don’t let go!” Clark yelled through the thunder. “I’ll pull you up real quick!”

“Clark, it’s the paint,” Brainy yelled, “It’s making me slip!” Just as he said that, his hands slipped even more from Clark’s grip, until Clark was just grasping at Brainy’s fingers.

“Hold on for just a bit longer,” Clark yelled, “I’ll-!”

But it was too late; Brainy’s fingers slipped from Clark’s hand, and Brainy fell down, screaming all the way, headed right for the flames, as the hooded figures chanted louder and louder…

“NO!”

_ Click! _

Just as Brainy fell on top of the fire, Garth slid down, a camera in his hand, as he took a picture of Clark, his hand extended in a weak attempt to reach Brainy. “ _ Boo _ .”

Clark looked down to see that Brainy’s arms and a leg broke off, though he was otherwise fine; even on top of the fires, which didn’t seem to do anything to him. He sat up. Clark saw that the fire went  _ through _ Brainy, somehow. He didn’t seem disturbed by the flames around and on his body.

Clark dared to breathe again. “ _ What _ ?”

The others slid down the roof. Tinya phased through his chest, a silly smile on her face. “We gotcha!”

“ _ What _ ?” Clark repeated.

“Surprise!” Chuck said, laughing a bit. “We planned this whole thing!”

“ _ What _ ?” Clark said once again.

“Look at you, scared in a haunted house!” Garth said, showing Clark the picture he just took. “Aww, look at you! Now this is  _ definitely  _ going in the scrapbook!”

Clark just blinked. “ _ What _ ?”

“Did you really think  _ Brainy  _ was dumb enough to make such a bad haunted house in an hour?” Irma said, smiling. “This whole thing was planned!  _ Surprise _ !”

“You mean…  _ you guys _ were in on all of this?” Clark said, slightly out of breath. “And Brainy’s fine?”

“For the most part,” Brainy said from below.

“We didn’t plan on him falling to his would-be death,” Lourno admitted. “But that was a nice touch, Brainy!”

“No it wasn’t,” Brainy said. “That part was real. Thankfully, I wasn’t in danger. But my limbs are still broken.”

“You fell two stories!” Clark said. “But, what about the creepy doll, a-and the fire in the rain, and-?”

“You were in the simulation room the whole time,” said a familiar voice.

As the whole room began to dissolve, Clark looked up and saw Timber Wolf at the control panel, and Superman-X watching, eating popcorn. Now they were all floating in an empty spacious room, with Brainy down below. Slowly, they were all lowered to the ground.

“Brainy thought this all up?” Clark said. “Oh my  _ God, _ you guys!”

“Yep!” Chuck said, smiling. “Brainy thought that it’d be better to lower your expectations by making a dumb haunted house, and then making you think we were all in  _ actual  _ danger afterwards!”

“And Brainy programmed all of this for the simulation room in under an hour?” Clark asked, dumbfounded.

“He  _ is _ our favorite little Brainiac, after all,” Garth said.

“You guys could help me out a bit, here,” Brainy called out. “The fall was fake, but the broken limbs are real.”

Clark ran over and scooped Brainy up in his arms. “But my powers…?”

“That was  _ real _ gold Kryptonite,” Brainy admitted. “And the effects of it were real, so you’re not in any actual danger.”

Clark looked over and saw that the golden Kryptonite remained, though Tinya and the two Lournos were scooping it up.

“So, were you scared?” Brainy asked, smiling.

“I  _ peed myself _ a bit!” Clark said, trembling. “I’m  _ still  _ shaking! And you put yourself in danger!”

Then he  _ smiled _ .

“That was  _ amazing _ !” Clark said, as the others smiled. “I was  _ actually  _ scared! I’m  _ still  _ shaking! And I need to change my pants! But that was  _ incredible _ ! I was  _ scared  _ at a haunted house!”

“We’re happy to help,” Irma said, smiling.

“I mean, you guys are absolute jerks for doing this to me,” Clark said, still smiling. “But I’m gonna forgive you for giving me a genuine scare at a haunted house.” He hugged Brainy hard, and the others moved in to hug Clark, too.

“This is really sweet,” Brainy said, “but I still broke all of my limbs, and you smell like urine.”

As the others got out of the simulation room, Timber Wolf turned to Superman-X. “I told you this was better than watching  _ House of 1,000 Corpses _ .”

* * *

 

“Seeing you nearly die in a fire makes this movie seem a lot less scary.”

Brainy took a handful of popcorn as he looked over at Superman. “I’m glad I scared you, tonight. You seem really happy about it.”

“And you seem pretty proud of yourself,” Clark said.

“I am,” Brainy said. “Even though it cost me my limbs.” He looked down at his newly-repaired arms and leg.

“I got so scared, seeing you fall like that,” Clark said, leaning his head on top of Brainy’s. “I thought I was gonna lose you. And you looked so scared.”

“That part was an accident,” Brainy said. “I didn’t plan on falling off the roof. But it was a pretty scary ending to the haunted house, don’t you think?”

“So scary I  _ peed  _ myself,” Clark said, snuggling into Brainy’s side as he lowered the volume of  _ Frankenstein. _ “By the way, you owe me a new pair of pants.”

Brainy cuddled into Clark’s chest. “Glad I could give you a genuine Halloween experience.”

“It made me realize something,” Clark said, as he moved his hand to Brainy’s waist.

“What’s that?” Brainy said, happy that Clark was being so affectionate with him tonight.

“It made me realize that I never wanna see you hurt or scared ever again,” Clark said, giving Brainy a kiss on the cheek, then on the neck.

Brainy smiled sadly. “You know we’re superheroes who constantly put ourselves in dangerous situations, right?”

“I know,” Clark said, pulling Brainy close to him. “But still. And do me a favor?”

“What’s that?” Brainy said, gently getting up and sitting down on Clark’s lap.

“Don’t put yourself in danger for me ever again,” Clark said, gently kissing Brainy’s neck and lips, which Brainy happily reciprocated.

“I promise,” Brainy said, pecking Superman’s lips before resting his head against his chest.


	7. Eat, Brainy, Love

**_When I started writing this chapter I had totally forgotten Mars Bars were a real thing and by the time I remembered I couldn’t think of a better name for a candy bar so just roll with it please._ **

“Superman? What’s all this stuff for?”

“It’s for Brainy’s birthday cake,” Superman said, mixing his dry ingredients.

Bouncing Boy sighed. “I don’t think anyone’s told you this, but-”

“Brainy doesn’t like celebrating his birthday?” Superman finished for him. “I know, so that’s why I’m planning a quiet birthday celebration for him. You know, something relaxing and quiet, instead of a big party like you guys always do.”

“What do you mean?” Bouncing Boy asked, as Clark used an electric mixer to mix up the rest of the ingredients.

“Well, my ma doesn’t like big loud parties,” Superman explained over the noise, “so my pa and I used to give her a spa day on her birthdays!”

“A ‘spa day’?” Bouncing Boy asked. “For  _ Brainy _ ?”

“Well, yeah,” Superman said, mixing the two bowls together now. “Even robots need to relax, right?”

“Is that what all this stuff’s for, then?” Bouncing Boy asked, pointing at a bowl of something white that smelled strongly of honey.

“It’s a facial scrub,” Superman explained, pouring the batter into a cake pan.

“A facial scrub,” Bouncing Boy said flatly. “For a robot.”

“It’s not supposed to make sense,” Superman sighed, “it’s just supposed to be relaxing, alright? I’m even gonna prepare a bath for him.”

“But-” Bouncing Boy started, though was cut off by Duo Damsel, who walked in with two large paper bags.

“I got those flower petals you asked for!” Duo Damsel said, putting the bags down on the counter. “They smell really nice! What are you gonna use them for?”

“Brainy’s bath,” Superman said, finally putting the batter in the oven. “There! It should be done in about half an hour.”

“But Superman, Brainy doesn’t  _ take _ baths!” Bouncing Boy said. “At least, I  _ think  _ he doesn’t.”

“Then how does he get clean?” Superman asked.

“I dunno,” Duo Damsel said, shrugging.

“Listen, I don’t wanna ask Brainy if he bathes or not,” Superman said, blushing. “Let’s just focus on making this cake, alright? And where’s Phantom Girl with the cake decorations?”

“Right here!” she said, phasing through the door, and setting down a plastic bag next to the rose petals. “I got the frosting and some candles, and some icing to spell out the words.”

“Great,” Superman said, rifling through the bags. “And the sprinkles?”

“Aw, dang it!” Phantom Girl said, frowning. “I knew I forgot something.”

“We finished Brainy’s breakfast,” Lightning Lad announced, holding up a large stack of pancakes. “Why don’t we tell Brainy to go and get the sprinkles, while the cake is baking?”

“We’re gonna make Brainy go grocery shopping on his birthday?” Superman asked.

“On his last birthday, he helped clean up after the party,” Bouncing Boy admitted.

Superman sighed. “Alright, I still need help setting up this spa stuff, maybe making Brainy go out for a bit can help us. Why don’t you guys wake him up and tell him to go get the sprinkles?”

* * *

 

“ _ Happy birthday, Brainy _ !”

“Oh, boy,” Brainy groaned, “It’s that time again, isn’t it?”

“Get up, sleepy head,” Lightning Lad said, ruffling Brainy’s hair. “We made you pancakes!”

Brainy opened his eyes, keeping his blankets around his body, and slowly sat up. Phantom Girl and Lightning Lad set up the breakfast in his lap: heart-shaped blueberry pancakes with a tall glass of milk.

“Hearts?” Brainy half-asked, half-yawned. “Really?” Nonetheless, he started eating.

“We were gonna make teddy bears, but they were too complicated,” Phantom Girl said.

“Now, eat up,” Lightning Lad said, “we need you to go to the store and get something for your birthday cake.”

“You’re making me do chores on my birthday?” Brainy said through a mouthful of pancakes.

“You’d rather have another big party?” Lightning Lad asked.

Brainy sighed. “Fine, what do you need?”

“Just some sprinkles for the cake,” Phantom Girl said. “And maybe you can buy yourself something as a little gift.”

“Can I stay there all day?”

Lightning Lad pouted. “Come on Brainy, don’t be like that! You’re nineteen now! We swear, we’re gonna make this your best birthday yet!”

“And it starts off with me at the grocery store.”

“Don’t be a negative Nelly,” Lightning Lad insisted. “Listen, why don’t you treat yourself and go to that one store that sells the chocolate you like?”

“You mean the one that’s really far away?” Brainy stated. “Please tell me you guys aren’t planning another big party.”

“No party,” Phantom Girl promised. “And no alcohol, I  _ swear _ .”

“And no strippers.”

“Come on, Brainy!”

“ _ Garth _ .”

“Fine, no strippers.”

* * *

 

“I don’t think they’re planning another big birthday party like last time, which is nice,” Brainy said into his phone. He looked through the sprinkles aisle, all different colors and shapes.

“Oh, that’s right, Chameleon Boy, you weren’t part of the Legion last year,” Brainy remembered, looking through the green sprinkles. “ _ Last _ year, they threw a big party with alcoholic beverages and loud music, which I think was mostly for  _ their  _ benefit than mine.”

He checked out some star-shaped ones. “I had to look it up, but the legal age for drinking here is eighteen, so I guess they thought they were doing me a favor, but I don’t like to think of what might happen if  _ I _ ever got intoxicated.”

He set down the star sprinkles and looked through some more. “Back in Colu, we didn’t celebrate birthdays. I didn’t know about birthday celebrations until my fifteenth birthday on Earth after I joined the Legion. Gave me a bit of a shock when everyone was hiding in the living room with cake. I don’t really like the loud noise and everyone congratulating me. I mean, I just turned a year older, I don’t really like to think about how old I am, you know? It feels strange that this is such a popular custom on Earth.”

He finally picked out some nice yellow-green triangle-shaped sprinkles. “I apologize for leaving such a long voicemail, C.B. I guess I just had to vent. See you when you get back on Earth.” As he ended the conversation, he passed by a shelf of candy, and picked out some chocolate bars as a treat for himself.

After paying at the check-out, Brainy dumped his groceries in a grocery tote bag and walked into the parking lot. He looked for his cruiser, and was surprised to see it sandwiched between two larger cruisers.

“Oh, for the love of…” Brainy sighed, then squeezed himself between the two cars. It was a great time for the strap of his tote bag to rip, and for the tube of sprinkles to roll under the car.

“Oh,  _ grife _ ,” Brainy muttered, then stretched his head and neck under the car to grab it. Though when he turned his head under the car to search, he felt something stick to his head. He grabbed it roughly, though quickly wished he hadn’t. When he looked down at his hand, it was covered in bubblegum.

“ _ Disgusting _ !” Brainy accidentally raised his head and bumped it against the bottom of the cruiser, and he swore loudly. He tried to readjust himself, and grabbed the sprinkles and got back up, unlocking his door and opening it just a bit.

He slid the bag full of his stuff in the car, then threw the keys on his seat, though he noticed a bar of chocolate had fallen under the other car.

Just as he stood up to get it, the door closed on him.

“No, no, no, no,  _ no _ ,” Brainy muttered, trying to open the door again, though it was too late; he locked himself out of his own cruiser. He stared helplessly at the cell phone inside the ripped bag.

“Sprock me,” Brainy growled.  _ ‘Think, Brainy, you’re locked out, and you don’t wanna ruin this cruiser. And you don’t know any other way to contact the Legionnaires, you don’t have your Legion Ring, and you can’t afford to use a payphone.’ _ He sighed.  _ ‘I can always take a bus…’ _

He angrily walked off to the nearest bus stop, attracting some stares with the huge wad of gum resting on his head.

* * *

 

“Brainy’s still not back?” Superman asked, as he just finished spelling out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAINY” on the cake. He started putting the candles on top.

“I tried calling him, but he won’t answer,” Bouncing Boy said. “I don’t think he took his Ring with him, do you think he’s in some kind of trouble?”

“Why don’t we go over to the grocery store and see if he’s still there?” Duo Damsel suggested. “He probably just lost his phone or something, but we can never be too careful.”

“Sure thing,” Superman said, putting down the last candle. “I hope he’s okay…”

* * *

 

“Can I ask where this bus is headed?” Brainy asked the bus driver, an elderly woman in a blue uniform and round glasses.

“We’re headed for the Superman Museum,” she croaked out.

Brainy grinned. “ _ Perfect _ ; that’s only a few minutes away from the Legion Headquarters!”

“That’ll be five dollars,” she said, pointing a wrinkly finger at the money machine.

Brainy grinned helplessly. “I apologize, it’s just that, I locked my wallet and my keys in my cruiser, and I left my phone in there…”

“No money, no ride,” she insisted.

Brainy frowned. “But it’s my birthday!”

“That’s the rules, kid.”

“ _ Kid _ ?” Brainy repeated. “I’m turning  _ nineteen  _ today! And I’m no kid, I’m a  _ Legionnaire _ !  _ I’m  _ the reason why this city isn’t in  _ ruins _ !”

“I don’t care if you’re the  _ president of the United Planets _ , no money, no ride.”

Brainy was about to argue, though he didn’t feel like yelling at an old woman. He sighed. “Fine, I’m getting off…” He stepped off, and he sighed when he heard the bus take off. He looked over in the direction of the Legion Headquarters. It would take forever to get there with the sidewalks so busy, as usual. Though Brainy quickly spotted a clearing that could serve as a shortcut…

* * *

 

_ Meanwhile... _

“Well, I talked to the cashiers inside,” Phantom Girl said. “Brainy definitely went in and bought something, and walked out just fine.”

“And there’s the cruiser he took,” Bouncing Boy said, pointing at a cruiser with two empty spaces on the left. He, Duo Damsel, Superman, Lightning Lad, and Phantom Girl walked over, and looked through the windows.

“Yup, he definitely left his keys and his phone in there,” Bouncing Boy said. “How are we gonna get in?”

_ CRUNCH! _

“Okay, we could’ve gotten in there without  _ breaking his window _ , but this is fine,” Duo Damsel sighed, as Lightning Lad took the keys from inside and opened the door.

“So, where could Brainy be?” Superman asked, getting in the middle seat in the back with Phantom Girl and Lightning Lad at his sides. “Think he took the bus home?”

“Without his wallet?” Lightning Lad asked, looking through the torn tote bag. He noticed several Mars Bars and opened one up. “Maybe he walked home.”

“Oh, poor Brainy’s gonna be so tired when he gets home,” Phantom Girl said.

“But we didn’t see Brainy anywhere on the way here,” Bouncing Boy pointed out. “Do you think he went somewhere else?”

“Where would he go without a cell phone or money?” Superman asked.

“I know one place he sometimes goes to,” Lightning Lad said through a mouthful of marshmallow and caramel. “The Bellagio Hotel.”

“Why would he go there?” Bouncing Boy said, taking a chocolate for himself.

“Well, one time, he and I stepped inside so I could use the bathroom, and I took him with me,” Lightning Lad explained. “And he said he really liked the potpourri they used in the hotel, but we couldn’t find a place that sells it.”

“So Brainy sometimes goes into a fancy hotel to smell potpourri?” Superman asked, as Bouncing Boy started up the cruiser.

“Yeah, sometimes,” Lightning Lad said.

When they drove over, Superman was amazed to see a giant, yellow building with blinding lights and fancy-looking fountains and plants decorating the front. “Of all the places to use the bathroom, you chose this place?”

“When you gotta go, you gotta go,” Lightning Lad shrugged. “I know exactly which pot of potpourri he likes, come on.”

Superman had never seen such a fancy hotel, or one so large. There were several pots of potpourri sprinkled around, and, unfortunately, no birthday boy in sight.

Just as they walked in, a tall bellhop, a teenager, walked past, though he paused when he saw the two heroes walk in. “May I help…?” He trailed off when he looked at Lightning Lad, and started grinning. “Hey, you’re the bathroom guy!” He turned to his coworkers. “Guys, the bathroom guy is back again!”

The rest of the workers in the lobby turned at the teen’s words, and started smiling and waving.

“Hey, bathroom guy!”

“Welcome back!”

“We got some new potpourri in the men’s room!”

“Where’s your robot friend?”

“You come here a lot, don’t you?” Superman asked, trying not to smile.

“I really like their soaps, okay?” Lightning Lad groaned.

“How come your robot friend isn’t here today?” the bellhop asked. “We got a new bowl of potpourri that we think he’d like!”

“We’re looking for him,” Superman explained. “It’s his birthday today, and we kinda lost him…”

“He hasn’t been here,” the bellhop said. “I didn’t know it was his birthday today! Garth, why didn’t you say anything?”

“How many times do you come here to pee?” Superman asked incredulously.

“They have really nice hand soap,  _ okay _ ?” Lightning Lad yelled.

“It  _ is _ really nice soap,” the bellhop said calmly. He walked over to the counter and grabbed a paper bag. “We haven’t seen the robot, but since it’s his birthday, we might as well get him a little gift.” He dipped the bag in a bowl of potpourri and gave it to Lightning Lad. “Here, it’s his favorite pot.”

“T-Thanks,” Superman said, thinking about how weird his day was so far. “Alright, let’s go tell the others.”

* * *

 

“This is almost peaceful,” Brainy said aloud to himself, as he walked through the grassy clearing. “The sound of birds, the smell of grass… When was the last time you’ve done something like this?”

It wasn’t so much a field of pure nature and animals; there were cell tower along the sides of the clearing. But it was still mostly untouched by technology; he could see the tall towers in the distance, though he also saw many bushes and tall patches of grass.

“This is pretty nice,” Brainy said to himself, “the flowers here are really pretty-”

_ SPLAT! _

Brainy hadn’t seen the rocks at his feet, and ended up tripping over them, right into a pile of mud. His shirt and legs were covered in the stuff, and he crawled out of the mud pile and turned to spit out a mouthful into the grass.

As Brainy looked down at his mud-coated body, he clenched his fist, and was about to  _ scream _ , but stopped himself. He took a deep breath.

“This is fine,” Brainy muttered to himself. “No need to lose your temper over some mud.” He spit some more mud out of his mouth.

“You know what, Querl?” Brainy said to himself in a calming voice. “Why don’t you go look at some of the nice flowers? Look over there!” He started walking over to a large patch of sunflowers. “Sunflowers! How pretty! Isn’t this nice?”

He bent down and sniffed the flowers… then started gagging. “Oh, sprock! What in the…?”

He looked down at the sunflowers again, then gasped when he saw something napping in the sunflowers. Something black with a single white stripe on its back and tail.

“Oh,  _ no _ ,” Brainy muttered, putting his hands to his nose. “Ooooooooh, no.”  _ ‘Don’t panic, Querl. Skunks are easily startled, but all you have to do is walk backwards, very slowly… _ ’

The second Brainy stepped back, he accidentally stepped over a crunchy leaf, which made the skunk’s eyes snap open. And it immediately sprayed the large, green stranger.

* * *

 

“Aw, that was nice of the hotel people,” Phantom Girl said, sniffing the bag of potpourri. She passed it to Duo Damsel to let her sniff.

“Okay, so he’s not in the hotel,” Superman said. “Where else do you guys think he’d go, with no money?”

“Ooh, I know!” Phantom Girl piped up. “The mall!”

“The mall?” Lightning Lad asked. “Brainy doesn’t like the mall that much.”

“But he  _ does _ like going to Perry’s Pet Store!”

“ _ Perry’s Pet Store _ ?” Bouncing Boy asked. Despite his skepticism, he started the car. “Why there?”

Phantom Girl blushed. “Sometimes I take Brainy to the pet store to see the puppies. And he  _ loves _ it!”

“I didn’t know Brainy liked animals,” Superman admitted.

“Oh, he makes me take him there all the time,” Phantom Girl said. “He  _ loves _ the puppies!”

“Why doesn’t he just buy a pet, instead of going to the pet store all the time?” Lightning Lad asked, as they pulled into the mall’s parking lot.

“He says it’s already too much trouble cleaning up after you,” Phantom Girl said, grinning.

* * *

 

After Brainy got done throwing up in the bushes, he walked across the field, gagging and grumbling all the way, to the side of the highway. He stood at the side, and started waving.

He knew he must not have looked friendly. A green robot with gum in his hair, covered in mud, and smelling like a skunk, most people wouldn’t stop to talk to him. But finally, finally, after so many people drove past him and refusing to make eye contact, did someone with a car pulling some large, white trailer in the back.

“You’re that Brainiac Five guy, aren’t you?” the tall, bearded man asked through the open window.

Brainy nodded. “Yes! And I’m lost and I don’t have any money or my phone or any way to contact the rest of the Legion, and I smell bad and it’s my birthday and I’m really sad-”

The man chuckled. “It’s fine, kid, I’ll take you back to New Metropolis. It’s the least I can do to help a hero out.”

Brainy could’ve hugged him. “Thank you so much, sir!” He made a move to get into the passenger seat, but the man stopped him with a gesture.

“Whoa, wait a second,” he said, holding his shirt collar to his nose. “I don’t mean to be rude, but, uh, you don’t smell so good.”

Brainy sighed. “I got sprayed by a skunk.”

“You’ve had a rough day, huh?”

“Very rough.”

“Well, if you don’t mind taking a seat in the back-”

“I don’t! That’s perfectly fine!” Brainy walked over to the white trailer. “What’s in here?”

The sound of a whiny answered him.

“Don’t worry about them, they’re mostly nice,” the man said, though once Brainy got inside, the horses started to skitter their hooves in place, most likely agitated by his stench.

Brainy frowned at the horses. “As if  _ you  _ smelled any better.”

* * *

 

“ _ Arf! Arf!” _

“Phantom Girl,  _ please  _ don’t bark at the puppies, people are staring.”

“I don’t care,” Phantom Girl said, picking up a mutt and holding it close to her face. “Aw, wook at  _ you _ , you widdle  _ cutie _ ! Aw, you’ve gotten chubbier since the last time I saw you!”

“Tinya? It’s been awhile since you’ve come to the store!” The group turned to see a chubby middle-aged woman wearing a uniform, walking up to Phantom Girl with a bird on her arm. “Where’s Querl? On a mission?”

“No, we can’t find him  _ anywhere _ , Margie,” Phantom Girl admitted. “Did he come by here?”

“No, he hasn’t been here,” the owner, Margie, said. “It’s too bad, Koko misses him!”

“ _ Koko! Koko _ !” the bird said.

“Oh, he’s cool!” Bouncing Boy said, stroking the bird’s head. “What kinda bird is it?”

“An African Grey,” Margie said. “Querl  _ loves _ this little guy!”

“ _ I have a twelfth level intelligence _ ,” the African Grey said, in perfect imitation of Brainy.

“Oh, my God,” Lightning Lad laughed. “Yeah, that’s Brainy, all right. Up top, little guy!” He held a hand up to the bird, and Koko slowly raised one wing and tapped it against Lightning Lad’s hand.

“Wow, Brainy really lives a double life, doesn’t he?” Superman said, as Duo Damsel started grabbing some kittens. “Smells fancy hotel lobbies, goes to pet stores, it’s like I barely know him anymore.”

“Guys, something just occurred to me,” Duo Damsel said, putting the kitten down. “There’s nobody back at the Legion Headquarters, right?”

“No, why?” Lightning Lad asked.

“What if Brainy is on his way home as we speak?” Duo Damsel said. “There’s nobody there to let him in!”

The other Legionnaires stared at each other. Koko let out another perfect imitation of Brainy’s voice.

“ _ It smells like Lightning Lad’s room in here. _ ”

* * *

 

“I really appreciate this!” Brainy said, as the man finally dropped him off in front of Legion Headquarters. “Thank you so, so,  _ so _ much!”

“Least I could do for someone who saves my life every day,” the man said, then waved goodbye as he drove off.

Brainy sighed happily, as he looked up at the Headquarters. He was even looking forward to the loud party probably going on inside. “Finally, home…”

He tried to open the door, but it was locked.

Every single good feeling in his body melted off. “ _ OH, FOR SPROCK’S SAKE _ !”

Brainy attracted the attention from people walking nearby, though he couldn’t care less at that point. He tried to calm down. “Okay, you need your ring to get in, and for some reason it seems that nobody’s inside,  _ now what _ ?” He looked around, trying to think, and remembered the window that was on the side of the building that lead directly to the kitchen.

Except it was on the second floor.

He didn’t care anymore; if he had to smash a window to get in, he would. He walked around the side of the building, and extended his limbs to the window sill, and pulled himself up. Now there was the problem of actually  _ opening _ the window…

_ CRUNCH! _

_ “Intruder alert on the second floor kitchen, _ ” Computo stated over the speakers, as an alarm went off.

“It’s just me, Computo,” Brainy said to the voice, and carefully stepped inside, making sure to avoid the broken glass. He looked over, and was surprised to see a cake and several bowls of some unknown substances on the counters.

He heard footsteps, and found Superman, Duo Damsel, Lightning Lad, Bouncing Boy, and Phantom Girl running into the room, obviously set off by Computo’s warning. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Brainy standing there, covered in mud, with gum in his hair, next to the broken window.

“What the hell?” Lightning Lad said, taken aback by Brainy’s appearance.

“ _ Brainy? _ ” Bouncing Boy yelled. “What  _ happened _ ?”

“And what’s that smell?” Duo Damsel asked, as Phantom Girl started to gag.

All Brainy could do was blink at the banner spread out on the kitchen table.  _ “Happy Spa Day _ ?”

Superman smiled weakly. “ _ Surprise _ !”

* * *

 

“Alright, I think that’s enough for one tub,” Superman said, as he and Lightning Lad dumped the last of the industrial sized tomato sauce into Brainy’s bathtub.

“Thanks,” Brainy said, and took off his shirt. He gave it to Lightning Lad, who gagged. “Do me a favor, and  _ burn  _ this shirt.”

“Aren’t you gonna take your pants off?” Superman asked.

“Not in front of  _ us _ ,” Phantom Girl said, blushing.

Brainy blinked. “What pants?”

Lightning Lad blinked. “The pants you’re currently wearing…?”

Brainy looked down at his purple legs. “These are my legs, Lightning Lad. I don’t  _ wear  _ pants.”

“So, right now, you’re technically  _ naked _ ?” Lightning Lad asked, as Phantom Girl blushed and covered her eyes.

“Technically,” Brainy said casually, climbing into the tub.

“You’ve been walking around half-naked in here for the past  _ six years _ ?” Bouncing Boy asked incredulously.

“Oh, my God,” Superman said, as he, too, blushed and covered his face. Lightning Lad smirked.

“Come on, shouldn’t you be happy about this?” Lightning Lad joked. “In fact, why don’t we leave you two alone so you can process this information better? Wink, wink.”

“Get your head out of the gutter,” Duo Damsel teased, shoving Lightning Lad lightly.

Superman stopped blushing and crouched down to talk to Brainy at eye-level. “Sorry about how your day went, Brainy.”

“It’s fine,” Brainy said. “It’s not your guys’ faults.”

Superman got out a bowl of something that smelled strongly of honey. “Here, let me get that gum out of your hair.”

As Superman started massaging the goop into Brainy’s hair, Brainy let himself relax, and closed his eyes. “What is that?”

“Some goop to give you a facial scrub,” Superman said. “But it has honey in it, and I heard that honey helps you get gum out of your hair, so I hope you don’t mind me using this wrong.”

“It’s fine,” Brainy said, smiling.

Duo Damsel got out some candles and started arranging them around the tub. “I know this isn’t exactly the Beverly Hills Spa, but we hope you like it!”

Bouncing Boy got out his iPod and started playing calming music. “We think that, after today, you really needed this.”

“I definitely do,” Brainy said, as he sunk lower into the tomato sauce. Superman stopped massaging his hair, and pulled out a bunch of pink bubblegum.

“Done!” Superman said, throwing the gum in the trash. “Now, it’s time for the cucumbers.”

“You know that, as a robot, I don’t need this,” Brainy said, though allowed Superman to put the cucumbers over his eyes.

“No, but it doesn’t really matter,” Superman admitted. “It’s just supposed to make you feel relaxed.”

“I bet this is still better than last year’s party, huh?” Duo Damsel asked nervously.

“Yes,” Brainy confirmed. “This year, Cosmic Boy didn’t throw up all over the floor.”

“Listen, I really am sorry we couldn’t give you a better birthday after the crappy day you just had,” Superman said, smoothing out Brainy’s hair a bit.

“You know?” Brainy said, sitting up a bit straighter in the tub, taking the cucumbers off and putting them on the edge of the tub. “I really do think this is one of my  _ better  _ birthdays.”

“Wow, I didn’t think last year was  _ that _ bad,” Phantom Girl said.

“Jeez, what did you guys  _ do _ last year on Brainy’s birthday?” Superman asked.

Brainy sighed. “I’d rather not relive those memories.”

“At least we didn’t hire strippers this time.”

“The  _ point  _ is,” Brainy said loudly, “that I really did enjoy all this.”

“ _ How _ ?” Bouncing Boy asked.

“I don’t know,” Brainy said. “Something about having a really bad day and coming home to a bath and cake feels nice. I’m actually very relaxed right now. Can we do this every year?”

“What, give you a tomato sauce bath?”

“ _ No _ . I mean, make me go through  _ hell  _ and come back home to a nice meal and warm bath and calming music and a nice book.”

“You mean these?” Lightning Lad asked, holding up the stack of books skillfully wrapped in green wrapping paper. “Oh, these are dictionaries. Happy birthday, nerd.”

Brainy frowned.

“That was a joke. These are old 21st century books that Superman helped us pick out for you.”

Brainy smiled. “Thanks.”

“It’s the least we could do for our favorite little nerdling.”

“Happy birthday, Brainy,” Superman said, kissing Brainy’s forehead, making him blush and sink further into the tomato sauce bath.

“Thanks, you guys,” Brainy said, smiling up at them. “By the way, you guys got my cruiser back, right?”

“Yeah, we got it from the grocery store parking lot,” Duo Damsel said.

“And you didn’t have any problems getting in, since Phantom Girl just used her powers to phase through and get the keys, right?”

The others just stared at Lightning Lad.

“I don’t even want to know,” Brainy said, sliding the cucumbers back over his eyes.

**One time I had to stay in a motel and my mom told one of the motel people that she liked the potpourri they used and for some reason they gave her a bag with some of the potpourri and I want to assume that this is a common thing that motels/hotels do. I really hope it is.**


	8. His Way

**These chapters aren’t connected unless I say so, and now I’m saying that this is a sequel to the fifth chapter, “Last One Out of New Metropolis.”**

“This is kinda sad, you know.”

Brainy scowled at Lightning Lad, as he grabbed the screwdriver. “What are you talking about, now?”

“I mean, it’s just so simple,” Lightning Lad started, walking over and resting against the chair Brainy was sitting at. “You’ve had all this time to ask Superman to be your boyfriend, and you still haven’t done it.”

Brainy slapped the screwdriver and his project on the table in frustration. “Really,  _ this  _ again? Why are you even bringing this up? We went to a concert together, remember?”

Lightning Lad rolled his eyes. “Oh please, you two didn’t even dance. I saw you two; he was lying down on the grass, and you were napping on him while he was playing with your hair.”

Brainy smiled at the memory. “And I enjoyed every second of it.”

“Ugh,” Lightning Lad scoffed. “Is that your idea of a nice date, Brainy? Come on! It’s weird seeing you two so into each other and doing nothing about it.”

“It  _ was _ a nice date!” Brainy insisted.

“Not for me, you stole all my food.”

“Like I said, it was a nice date.”

“And you didn’t even get to dance!” Lightning Lad said. “How do you not know how to dance?”

“I just  _ don’t _ , okay?” Brainy said grumpily. It was hard to focus on his project with Lightning Lad bothering him over his love life.

“Can’t you just use your internal computer to look for some dancing lessons and download them into your brain, or something?” Lightning Lad asked.

Brainy slapped down the project again. “Do I  _ look  _ like a search engine to you? And why are you even bothering me?”

“I always bother you on my days off,” Lightning Lad shrugged. “Besides, you and Clark are  _ so close _ to being boyfriends, can’t you just ask him already?”

“It’s not that easy,” Brainy said, blushing.

“Come on, Brainy! You might be irritable, grumpy, a workaholic, a total know-it-all, conceited, condescending…”

“I will shoot you in the crotch with this laser I’m working on.”

“...What I’m getting at is, even though you’re not the most likable person on the Earth, or this building, or even this room…”

“ _ Garth. _ ”

“...You should try and ask Superman to be your boyfriend,” Lightning Lad finished. “Come on, you two really should be together at this point. I know it’ll make you both really happy. A lot happier than your time in the simulation room, at least.”

Brainy sighed, putting the unfinished project back in the drawer. “This has been a really nice talk, but I’m gonna go practice in the simulation room for a bit.”

“You mean, practice kissing Superman?”

“I will stab you with this screwdriver in the neck.”

“You’re not tall enough.”

“You’ve sunk low enough for me to reach.”

* * *

Once again, Brainy lied down on top of Superman, leaning his head into his chest and hearing his heartbeat. Clark put one hand around Brainy’s waist, and the other he ran through Brainy’s hair softly. Mike Krol’s garageband music could be heard in the distance, as well as a bit of chatter from the concert.

Brainy looked up a bit, just barely inching his head up to not disturb the fake Clark. He saw the teens dancing in the distance, most of them with friends, some with a significant other. He laid his head back down, frowning a bit.

“Maybe I should’ve danced with you,” Brainy said softly, though the fake Clark did not respond. “I would’ve danced with you, but I don’t know how…”

“Want me to teach you?”

Brainy looked up to see Phantom Girl, of all people, in the simulation room.

Brainy blinked. “What are  _ you _ doing here?”

“Listening to Mike Krol music, of course,” Phantom Girl said, smiling.

Brainy guessed she was a part of the simulation, somehow. He sighed. “Same here.”

“You just said you didn’t know how to dance,” Phantom Girl said. “Do you want me to teach you?”

Brainy blushed; even dancing in complete privacy seemed to be too much for him. “I don’t know…”

“It won’t kill you to try,” Phantom Girl said lightly, extending her hand to him. “Come on, just trust me, okay?”

Brainy sighed; it’s not like he had anything to lose. “Alright.”

“Great!” Phantom Girl hopped a bit in joy, and took Brainy’s hands and put them on her waist. Brainy blushed, and raised his arms a bit higher.

Phantom Girl giggled. “Alright, all you gotta do is hold me like this, and I hold you like this…” She put one hand on his upper back, and grabbed one of his hands and held it in her own.

“O-Okay,” Brainy stuttered. He blushed when Phantom Girl giggled.

“Now, your feet have to move in a square, like this,” Phantom Girl said, dancing the appropriate steps as Brainy watched. “And you just dance with me, with the same steps, got it?”

“I think,” Brainy muttered.

“Alright,” Phantom Girl said, “let’s try it together…”

The two of them danced the four steps together, moving just a few inches. They repeated the action for about a minute.

“And now, we need to spin,” Phantom Girl said. “Here, I’ll spin slowly, and you just try and follow me, and try not to step on my feet.”

“I’ll try,” Brainy said, and looked down carefully to check that his feet didn’t overlap with Phantom Girl’s as she started to twirl.

“Great!” Phantom Girl said, which made Brainy smile. “Now, I’m gonna try and twirl you around by your hand, okay?”

“Shouldn’t it be me, twirling you?” Brainy asked.

“I’m taller,” Phantom Girl stated. “Now, I’m gonna raise my arm and make you twirl around under it, and you gotta be careful with your arm so you don’t hurt it, okay? And you just come back to the same pose you were in before, like this…”

She raised her arm up and forced Brainy into a twirl, leaving him blushing.

“That was great!” Phantom Girl said encouragingly. “See? You’re a natural!”

Brainy smiled in an embarrassed sort of way. “Thanks, but I think it’s time for me to get out of here. Computo, end simulation.”

The Mike Krol music died down, and the concert melted away, leaving only Brainy. And Phantom Girl.

Brainy blinked. “Computo, check for malfunctions in the simulation room.”

Phantom Girl giggled. “You’re looking at the real deal, Brainy!”

Brainy stared at her. “ _ What _ ? What are you  _ doing _ here, Phantom Girl?”

“I  _ told _ you, I wanted to see the Mike Krol concert but couldn’t because I was on patrol,” Phantom Girl reminded him. She then smiled. “By the way, where’s that neat leather jacket I gave you as a present?”

Brainy blushed. “F-Forget it!” He suddenly turned pale. “Don’t tell  _ anyone _ I was dancing in here, okay?”

Phantom Girl scoffed. “Lighten up, Brainy! You were doing pretty good!” She smiled at him. “And I know you danced with Superman, what’s the big deal?”

“I didn’t,” Brainy admitted. “You saw us on the grass, back there; we didn’t actually get to dance.”

Phantom Girl frowned. “And how are things between you and Superman, after the concert?”

Brainy blushed again. “It’s complicated.”

Things didn’t go bad after the concert, at all. After the concert, Brainy had fallen asleep in Superman’s arms, and the group had taken Duo Damsel’s cruiser back home, with Brainy asleep, or pretending to be, in Superman’s lap. Not that Superman really believed he was asleep, but who was he to complain?

After that, though, he couldn’t help but feel just a bit awkward around Superman. Superman always looked at Brainy in an odd sort of way, as if he wanted to ask him something. And Brainy, too, sometimes felt like he could be doing something. Sometimes, whenever Superman was reading on the couch, Brainy had the urge to sit in his lap and read with him. He never once had the thought that Superman would object to that, but something always held him back.

He knew he could talk to Superman, but he had to remember the issues that came with the possibility of dating a Superman from the past. He tried to act professionally with Superman at all times, thinking it would just be easier on the both of them, though he sometimes still hoped...

“No, it’s not,” Phantom Girl said plainly. “You’re just too shy to ask him to be your boyfriend.”

Brainy sighed. “It’s more than that, Phantom Girl. You know I’m not exactly the romantic type…”

“You can try and learn to be,” Phantom Girl pointed out.

“That isn’t necessary,” Brainy said bluntly. “You know why Superman and I can’t be together. Listen, I’m going to get back to work, you can stay here and enjoy the concert, alright? Computo, start the Mike Krol simulation.”

Brainy exited just as Mike Krol started up “Like A Star.” Phantom Girl sighed, and looked over at the grass, where the real Brainy had been replaced by a fake Brainy, whom was happily resting in Superman’s arms.

She couldn’t help but smile when Superman started running his fingers through Brainy’s hair, and Brainy snuggled up to Superman, with Superman happily embracing him with his free arm. The two of them looked up at the stars, both of them so content to being together.

Phantom Girl suddenly got an idea. It was either a great idea or a terrible one, she couldn’t tell, but it was an idea that got her thinking...

* * *

“Clark?”

“Mmm? Phantom Girl?” Clark drowsily opened his eyes, and jumped back when he found Phantom Girl’s face very close to his own. “ _ Jeez _ ! Phantom Girl, don’t  _ scare me _ like that!” He covered himself with his blanket, and looked over at his alarm. “It’s one in the morning! What’s wrong?”

“Everything’s fine,” Phantom Girl said soothingly, hovering next to his bed nonchalantly. “And you’re wearing a shirt, you don’t need to cover up your boobs like that.”

Clark blushed. “Alright, so  _ why _ did you sneak into my room at one in the morning?”

“You like Brainy, right?”

Clark blushed. “W-Well, yeah…”

“ _ Like _ -like him?”

Clark didn’t answer, though he kept blushing.

“ _ I know you like him _ ,” Phantom Girl said in a fake-taunting, sing-song voice. “And I know how to help the both of you out!”

“What do you mean?” Clark asked.

“What if you two went on a real, fancy-shmancy date?” Phantom Girl asked.

Clark felt his face heat up. “Phantom Girl, I’m not exactly the  _ fanciest  _ guy…”

“Neither is Brainy,” Phantom Girl said. “But you could learn to be, if you had a practice date with him.”

“A  _ practice  _ date?” Clark repeated.

“Let me explain,” Phantom Girl started. “What if I had you meet up with me in the simulation room, 7 o’ clock tomorrow, but instead of dating the  _ real  _ Brainy…”

\-----------

“...you’d be dating a  _ fake Clark _ made by the simulation room?” Phantom Girl finished. “Just so you can have a practice run on that kinda date, and I’ll be with you to coach you the entire night!”

“That sounds weird,” Brainy admitted, picking up a screw. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…”

“Come  _ on _ , Brainy!” Phantom Girl whined. “What do you have to lose?”

“My dignity?”

“You lost that the day Superman left and you made up those weird ‘him-saving-your-life’ simulations.”

“Are you guys ever gonna let that go?”

“Oh, of  _ course  _ not!”

Brainy sighed. “You know what?  _ Fine _ . I have nothing to lose.”

Phantom Girl smiled. “ _ Yes _ ! And remember, you gotta wear something nice and fancy, alright? Dapper yourself up!”

“I’ll wear anything but that dumb  _ SEX MACHINE _ jacket.”

* * *

Clark couldn’t help but feel just the teensiest bit ridiculous in his current outfit, but what could he do, now? It was already seven, and Phantom Girl wanted him in the simulation room on-time. Reluctantly, he walked in.

The setting was surprisingly romantic. A nice, small table covered in white cloth, with two candles in the center next to a small vase of roses. There were two empty plates with eating utensils on opposite sides. Thought it was the scenery that really sold the romantic mood.

The table was set on the beach, with the ocean bright orange from the setting sun. There was a small ring of candles around the table, and as Clark walked up to the table, he saw that the ring of candles actually formed a heart shape.

“This is really pretty,” Brainy said, walking in from seemingly nowhere. Clark couldn’t help but look him over. As opposed to his usual uniform, Brainy wore a white button-up shirt over a black blazer and pants. He looked very handsome in it, though Superman also noticed that Brainy had also brushed his hair back, making him look a bit more mature. He liked it.

Phantom Girl had just walked in, wearing a typical waiter’s outfit. “Good evening, gentlemen, what a fine ev-  _ Clark,  _ what _ are you wearing?” _

Clark felt his face burn at Phantom Girl’s exclamation, and the heat only intensified when he saw the fake Brainy trying not to laugh.

“I thought wearing black would seem too typical, so I got this in dark blue,” Clark said, looking down at his deep blue tuxedo. “I thought it seemed nice…”

Phantom Girl sighed. “Yes, it’s nice, but did you  _ have _ to wear your cape?”

Clark’s cheeks turned the same deep red as his cape. “It helps me feel… important.”

Phantom Girl looked like she was about to argue, but she sighed in defeat. “You know what? Fine, let’s just roll with this. Just sit down and pick out your food.”

As they sat down, Brainy smiled at Clark. “I think you look handsome in your cape, Superman.”

Clark smiled. “You look pretty great, too. But, why don’t you call me by my name, since we’re on a date, Querl?”

Brainy, or  _ Querl _ , smiled. “Sure thing, Clark.” He picked up his menu. “Wow, this menu is  _ very  _ diverse.”

Superman picked up his own menu, and on it was a single item: ramen.

“Really?” Clark asked flatly, when Phantom Girl came over with two cups of microwave ramen.

“Do I  _ look  _ like a professional chef to you?” Phantom Girl said. “I’ve messed up cereal before, this was a safer option for you  _ and _ me.”

“You could just make the simulation room give us fake food,” Querl pointed out.

“Y-Yeah,” Clark agreed. “Besides, I think I’m a bit too nervous to eat, anyway…”

Phantom Girl sighed. “I cook you two a nice, hot meal, and this is the thanks I get…” She took the ramen off the plates and walked off. “You’re lucky I didn’t drag Timber Wolf into this, he would’ve thrown a fit at such ungrateful customers…”

“We appreciate your efforts,” Querl called out.

“I’m so sure,” Phantom Girl responded grumpily.

Clark stared at Querl. “So…” Just as he made a move to grab his hand, he knocked over a candle, shattering it.

Clark blushed and retreated his hand back. “S-Sorry, I…”

Querl smiled. “It’s fine, I’ll just…” He, too, stretched his hand out, knocking over the other candle and grabbing Clark’s hand.

Clark smiled. “Thanks, I think.”

“No problem, it was probably gonna happen eventually.”

Clark smiled. “Listen, Brain-  _ Querl _ , I was just, uh, thinking… Shouldn’t we be partners? I-I mean, do you  _ want _ to be my partner?”

Querl blushed furiously at the question, and looked down at Clark’s hand with a forlorn expression. “I’m not sure if we could ever make this work, Clark.”

“Why not?” Clark asked. “Even if it’s just for now, can’t we just enjoy this?”

“We could mess with the timeline,” Querl argued, still staring at Clark’s hand.

“Listen, Querl,” Clark started, “I know that we can’t be together forever, but we both like each other.” He smiled at Querl, who finally looked up at his face, though not quite reaching his eyes.

“I know this relationship can’t last forever,” Clark admitted. “But I still want to be your boyfriend, even if it’s just for the time I’m here. What do you think?”

“It’s not a lot of time,” Querl said in a melancholy tone, still not looking Clark in his eyes.

“But it’s  _ something _ ,” Clark pointed out. “I  _ want  _ to be your boyfriend, even if I only get to be your boyfriend for a short while. Please, Querl? Why can’t we just…  _ have  _ this?”

Querl finally looked him in the eyes, smiling a bit. “If you really mean it…”

“I wouldn’t be sitting here in a tuxedo and a cape if I didn’t really mean it, would I?”

He chuckled. He looked like he was about to argue again, though after a while, his face and body relaxed. “I accept.”

“You mean it?” Clark asked.

Querl smiled. “I mean it; I’ll be your boyfriend, Clark.”

As Clark felt himself smiling, he had to remind himself:  _ ‘This is just a simulation, Clark. Don’t get your hopes up; the real Brainy might not be so easy to convince…’ _

“This is nice and all,” Phantom Girl said from the distance, “but I think it’s about time for you two to dance.”

They turned around to see Phantom Girl, now seated at a large, ebony piano.

“You’re gonna play the piano for us?” Clark asked.

“You can play the piano?” Querl asked bluntly.

“No,” Phantom Girl admitted, “ _ but _ , I can make it look like I am, while Computo plays something. Hit it, Computo!”

Some romantic piano music started playing around them, with Phantom Girl watching them eagerly from her seat.

Clark felt something in his stomach drop. “B-But, I don’t know how to dance…”

Querl smiled gently, though there was still a dark green tinge on his cheeks as he spoke. “I can teach you, i-if you want me to…”

Clark smiled nervously. “Sure…”

“Here,” Querl said, standing up and gesturing Clark to stand up, too. “Let’s dance right here, alright?” He grabbed one of Clark’s hands, and had his other hand go to his back, blushing all the while. “You can lead, okay?”

“Okay,” Clark said, as Querl put one hand on his waist. “But I’ve never really danced before…”

“It’s easy,” Querl said reassuringly. “Come on, it’s okay, I’m probably gonna mess up too.”

Clark smiled. “So, you’re saying we can be bad dancers, together?”

Querl grinned. “Better than none of us dancing.”

He suddenly leaned his head into Clark’s chest, looking a bit remorseful. “I-I’m sorry we didn’t dance, back when we had the chance, at that concert…”

Clark was caught off-guard by that, but rested one hand on Querl’s head and smoothed out his hair. “It’s fine, it’s not like I could dance, either. But it was fun anyway, just looking up at the stars with you, and you naming all the constellations like the adorable nerd you are.”

Querl smiled and nuzzled his face into Clark’s chest for a bit, before remembering what he was about to do. “R-Right, so, you kind of have to move your feet in a square…”

As Brainy demonstrated, Clark followed closely, the two of them moving at a slow pace.

“Now, let’s try spinning,” Querl said. “This part’s kinda tricky.”

Clark started leading this time, his confidence starting to build, as he spun Brainy slowly on the fake sand.

“Do you wanna try lifting me up and spinning me?” Querl asked nervously.

“It’s worth a shot,” Clark shrugged. As gently as he could, he grabbed Querl by the waist and lifted him up, still spinning, and gently let him go for just a brief second so that Querl was in the air. He attempted to grab him, though only one hand managed to grab Querl’s hand, and the other hand completely missed.

The second he realized what had happened, he quickly tried to save him; Clark held one hand to Querl’s tightly, and the other grabbed him by his lower back and caught him before he could fall, just a foot above the ground, Clark in a weird, hunched-over position so that he was above Querl. He let out a gasp, though he smiled nervously when the shock of the moment died down. He started to laugh.

Seeing Querl laughing, even after Clark had messed up their dance, made him blush. He held him up, carrying him in his arms so that he could reach his face, then, suddenly, gave him a kiss, right on his still-laughing lips.

At first, Querl stopped laughing, staring at Clark with wide eyes, before he started blushing and giggling.

Clark couldn’t help but think that Querl’s laughter was the most adorable and pleasant noise that he’s heard all evening. He held him a bit closer to himself, and started kissing him all over his face, his neck, just giving him little pecks all over. He loved hearing his giggling as Clark continued to kiss him. Querl made no protest to Clark’s actions; instead, he got even closer to Clark’s face as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders, letting him kiss him more and more.

Clark only stopped kissing Querl when he had to breath again; Querl continued giggling for a bit, before nuzzling his head into Clark’s neck.

Clark felt himself blush when Querl started kissing his neck and jawline; small, quick kisses, as Clark feel like his heart was about to explode, at the speed it was beating.  He sighed, as he had to remember a very crucial detail of the date. “I wish I could do this, out  _ there… _ ”

“What do you mean?” Querl asked, head still nuzzled into Clark’s neck.

“You know, do this  _ outside  _ of the simulation room,” Clark muttered, “with the  _ real  _ Brainy.”

Querl looked up.

Clark blinked at the blank stare. “You know… with the Brainy that’s not a simulation?”

Brainy looked at Clark, then looked at Phantom Girl, who was starting to look like a deer caught in headlights. “Tinya…”

“Oh no,” Phantom Girl moaned.

“Phantom Girl,” Superman croaked out, “I  _ am _ in a simulation date with Brainy, right?”

“No,  _ I’m _ in a simulation date with Superman,  _ right _ , Phantom Girl?” Brainy asked, staring hard at Phantom Girl, his voice cracking a bit.

Phantom Girl smiled weakly. “Well…”

Brainy and Clark stared at her.

“I thought it would be nice if you two could just have a date without having any kind of pressure to be perfect,” Phantom Girl said. “So I kinda… told you two that you’d be dating a simulation version of each other.”

“So… this Brainy is the  _ real _ Brainy?” Clark asked, starting to blush when he remembered Brainy was still in his arms. He gently put him down.

Brainy stared at Clark for what seemed like a long time, in a state of shock.

“Brainy?” Clark asked quietly, extending a hand to him.

Brainy took a half step back. “Kal… I mean, Clark… Superman…”

“Querl? Are you…?” Clark started to ask, though Brainy ran off, forcing open the simulation room’s door and sprinting away.

Clark sighed. “Phantom Girl, I know you meant well, but…”

“I messed up, I know,” Phantom Girl said bluntly, frowning. “I thought he’d maybe take this better, but…” She sighed, as loss for words. “I really am sorry, Superman.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Superman sighed. He felt the happiness drain from his body as he wondered what Brainy might act like the next time they saw each other.

* * *

It was as though he didn’t exist. Brainy went about his usual routine the next day, acting like Superman wasn’t in the room. In fact, he was totally ignoring everyone. He pretended that everyone was invisible to him, and that he was invisible to everyone. He lived on a whole other plane of existence, as the Legionnaires watched on, confused.

Phantom Girl tried over and over to apologize, though she may as well be talking to the screwdriver in his hand, with his lack of response. It was a good thing Superman had forgiven her for her scheme; he almost didn’t, but he had to remind himself that her intentions were good, if a bit extreme.

Superman couldn’t even get a word out to Brainy before he noticed that he, too, was getting the silent treatment. He opened his mouth to say something to Brainy in the morning meeting, though Brainy looked past him and reminded the other Legionnaires of their patrol schedule and said nothing else.

“You two were on such good terms, and I messed it all up,” Phantom Girl sighed, as the two of them got back from parole after the sun had set.

“It’s not  _ all _ your fault,” Superman said, even though it  _ was  _ mostly her fault.

“I just don’t know how to fix this,” Phantom Girl said. “If you could just  _ talk _ to him, but he doesn’t want to talk to  _ anyone _ today…”

Just as she said this, walking into the Legion’s living room, they saw Brainy, sitting on a couch with another one of his projects at the coffee table, with the other Legionnaires in the room occasionally glancing at him, though never for too long.

When Superman and Phantom Girl awkwardly walked by, it was like Brainy was listening to too-loud music; he paid them no mind, and kept working on his project, acting like he hadn’t even noticed them.

“I need to talk to him,” Superman said to Phantom Girl in a hushed voice. “I have to do  _ something _ .”

“It’d take something big to get through to him,” Phantom Girl whispered back. But she smiled. “Go get ‘im, big guy; if anyone can get through to him, it’s you.”

Superman sat down next to Brainy. “You, uh, working on something?”

Silence.

“Brainy, please talk to me.”

Silence.

“Brainy, we need to talk about last night.”

Brainy reacted, though not on purpose; he started to turn dark green in embarrassment.

“Brainy, can you just  _ look _ at me?”

Brainy stared at his project, but finally, he said something. “I apologize for last night. We can pretend it never happened.”

“But I don’t  _ want _ to pretend it never happened,” Superman admitted. “I wanna talk about what we said…”

“Forget it,” Brainy said, still flushed. “It wasn’t even a real dinner date, so we can let it go.”

“Fine, then I’ll  _ take _ you to a real dinner date,” Superman blurted out.

Brainy finally looked up at him, and the other Legionnaires pretended not to be listening in on the conversation.

“I’ll even let you pick out where,” Superman added. “A-And maybe we could even dance…”

“And then what?” Brainy said loudly. “What do you expect is gonna happen after that?”

“Maybe we could kiss,” Superman responded.

“That’s  _ not _ what I meant!” Brainy exclaimed. “You know why it’d be risky if we got together!”

“We already had that conversation at our date last night!”

“That was not a real date!”

“It was to  _ me _ !”

Brainy and Superman just stared at each other, not noticing the other pairs of eyes on them, coming from all directions.

“That wasn’t a simulation talking to you last night, Brainy, it was  _ me _ ,” Superman said. “ _ Querl… _ ”

Brainy felt a shudder go through his spine at the mention of his real name. He looked into Clark’s deep blue eyes, the same blue eyes he kept staring at last night...

“You know what?” Brainy said, putting his project down. “Who needs dinner?” He reached over and held Superman’s face in his hands gently, before leaning over and kissing him.

Superman hugged Brainy close to him, ignoring the whispers and gasps around him, though had to force down a laugh when he heard a wolf whistle coming from Lightning Lad.

They separated after a bit, and Superman was glad to see Brainy smiling. He leaned in for another kiss, though paused.

“You know, dinner and a dance doesn’t sound so bad,” Brainy said. “But maybe without Phantom Girl constantly watching us.”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Superman asked. “A real date?”

“Yeah, I think I am,” Brainy said softly. “That doesn’t mean we have to wait so long to kiss, though…”

Superman smiled. “You’re right, it doesn’t.” He cupped Brainy’s face in his hands and started kissing him some more, once again having to ignore the barely-audible chatter around them.

**I finished this at midnight and I have to wake up at 6 a.m tomorrow,** **_why do I do these things to myself?_ **


	9. Love is Not Ours to Command

“Hello?”

“Hi, Clark, it’s Kara.”

“Kara, hey! What’s up?”

“I have a weird situation over here.”

“What’s up?”

“Well, another Brainiac just showed up,  _ at my front door _ , but he says he’s a friend of yours from the 31st century. And I called to see whether he was lying or not.”

Clark let out a small gasp. “Green skin? Blond? Short and skinny?”

“Y-Yeah. You know him?”

“He’s like my best friend! I invited him to the 21st century so you could get to know him! I was hoping he’d visit sometime soon! Where is he?”

“...He’s in my arms.”

“Are you hugging him?”

“No, I have him in a choke hold.”

“ _ Kara _ !”

“I didn’t know! Okay, okay, I’m letting him go!” Clark could hear gasps from the phone, and Kara apologizing over and over.

Clark sighed. “Okay, okay, let’s just meet up in your apartment real quick, okay? Maybe straighten everything out. Get you two to know each other, alright? I’ll fly over as soon as I can.”

-

“So, you joined a superhero team from the future,” Kara repeated slowly, “and one of them is a descendant of Brainiac. And he’s completely human because  _ reasons _ .”

“Yes,” Clark said, putting a hand on Brainy’s shoulder. “This is Brainiac 5. His real name is Querl Dox, but everyone just calls him Brainy.”

“And you’ve been friends with him for how long?”

“About eight years now,” Brainy confirmed.

“I wanted to introduce the two of you,” Clark explained. “My two favorite nerds should get the opportunity to meet!”

“Well,” Brainy started, “It was definitely an… Well, we met.”

Kara sighed. “He knocked on my apartment door and I tried to punch him in the face.”

“Right on the Brainiac symbol, too,” Brainy confirmed.

Clark sighed. “Guys, I am so sorry. I thought it’d be a fun surprise, but then I kind of forgot…”

“...our history with Brainiacs,” Kara finished for him.

“But it is fine,” Brainy insisted. “Let’s just move on.” He stretched his hand out for Kara to shake. “I am Brainiac 5. But you can call me Brainy.”

“I’m Kara Zor-El,” Kara said, “but everyone here knows me as Kara Danvers.”

“Wait, no,” Clark said suddenly. “No, you two are going to hug.”

Brainy and Kara stared at him. Kara spoke up first. “What? Why?”

“I wanted you two to be cute and hug, and instead you had him in a choke hold,” Clark said. “I want you two to hug. Right now.”

Kara and Brainy looked at each other, and slowly moved closer to each other and embraced awkwardly, and Kara had to smile at the fact that she could comfortably rest her chin on top of Brainy’s head.

“This is so cute, it’s like I’m hugging a little green bean!”

-

“Is that her?”

“That’s Lena Luthor,” Kara said, passing the phone to Brainy. “Clark knows about the Luthors, obviously. You?”

“Yes, though I cannot tell you anything about your future with the family,” Brainy said. “And she is a friend of yours?”

Kara grinned. “A very  _ good  _ friend.”

Brainy smiled knowingly. “I see.”

“So, you said that you and Clark are…?” Kara started to ask.

“Just friends,” Brainy said firmly.

Kara smiled. “Uh-huh. So, how are you liking the 21st century, so far?”

Brainy shrugged. “It is rather… different than the 31st century. And thank you for inviting me to your home.”

“It’s no problem,” Kara insisted. “I’d love to have you and Clark around. And, uh, I’m so sorry…”

“...for almost fracturing my skull when you tried to punch me in the face, I know,” Brainy said quickly. “All is forgiven.”

Kara looked down, blushing. “Y-Yeah, I just, uh, saw that symbol…”

“It happens,” Brainy said quickly. “It is in the past. Everything is fine now.”

Kara smiled shlyly. “Thanks. And sorry.”

Brainy smiled again. “It’s fine, really.” He looked back down at Kara’s phone. “She is pretty.”

“Don’t get too attached,” Kara teased. “She’s  _ mi- _ , uh, my…my friend.”

Brainy just rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know.”

Kara looked down at Brainy’s hand, desperate for a change in subject. “So, that Legion ring lets you fly?”

“Of course,” Brainy said. “That is its main purpose, as well as for letting others know that you are a part of the Legion.”

“Are you two bonding in there?” Clark asked, peeking into the living room. He now wore his usual glasses and sweater vest, with jeans. “Hopefully not punching each other, right?”

“No, we’re bonding,” Brainy promised.

“So, since we’re here, Kara, did you wanna watch a movie with me and Brainy?”

“Brainy and I,” Brainy corrected. Clark just rolled his eyes.

Kara heard a knock at her door, and she went to answer it. “Be right back.”

“Kara seems nice,” Brainy admitted.

Clark smiled. “Thanks for trying to get along with her. Especially after…”

“We don’t need to talk about it,” Brainy interrupted. “It is all in the past.”

“Right,” Clark said.

“Guys, Lena’s at my door,” Kara whispered. “Brainy, what are you gonna do?”

“I can use this,” Brainy said, reaching inside his bag. He pulled out a gray-peach mask that looked like a generic human face.

“That doesn’t look realistic at all,” Kara said.

Brainy just rolled his eyes, and put the mask on. In a flash of light, Brainy’s skin tone changed from dark green to brown, and the three circles on his head disappeared, though the rest of him looked the same. “It is called an ID mask. It can change your appearance. I use it sometimes, usually in public in this century. Is this suitable?”

Kara smiled. “Looks good.” She opened the door, and was pleased to see Lena standing there, with a bag in her hand. “Lena!”

“Good morning, Kara,” Lena said, smiling. “I heard that your cousin was back in town, and I thought I would stop by quickly to say hello before I go.” She spotted Brainy standing there nervously, and Kara had to think  _ fast _ .

“Oh, this is a friend of Clark’s from Metropolis,” Kara said. “This is, uh Brian. Brian... Vee.”

Brainy, or ‘Brian’, gave Kara a brief condescending smile, before turning to give Lena Luthor a genuine smile. “It’s good to meet you, Ms. Luthor.” He shook her hand.

“Likewise,” Lena said, smiling politely. She turned to Kara, handing over a white paper bag. “And knowing you, you’ve been hanging out with Clark so much, that you’d forget to eat breakfast again.”

Kara let out a small gasp. “Potstickers?”

“That’s not a proper breakfast,” Lena teased, “so I got you donuts instead. I need to get to work, but I just wanted to step in quick to say good morning.”

Kara gave her a quick hug. “Thanks for the breakfast.”

“Anytime,” Lena said. “Good to see you again, Clark. And it was nice meeting you, Brian.” She made her way outside, and as the door closed, Clark started laughing.

“Brainiac Five,” Clark said slowly, “to  _ Brian Vee _ ?”

“I had  _ seconds _ to think up a name,” Kara said.

“It’s fine,” Brainy said, smiling. “It’s the best we have right now.”

“Sorry,” Kara said. “And I can’t hang out today because I have to work, but tomorrow I’m free.”

“What about the DEO?” Clark asked. “Do they know about Brainy?”

“Do you want me to talk to them?” Clark asked. “I don’t know if Brainy should come, though. I mean, you tried to kill him when he was at your front door. Can you imagine going to their headquarters? He’ll be dead in five seconds.”

Brainy sighed. “You two go do your business, I will stay here.”

“You sure you’re gonna be fine here by yourself?” Clark asked.

“I am not a child,” Brainy insisted. “I will be fine.”

-

It wouldn’t have started if Kara had just slept in her room, like she said she would.

Kara had said they could stay in her apartment. Clark opted to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor in Kara’s room. Kara would sleep on her bed, and Brainy could sleep on the couch.

As Kara went to her job at the DEO, and Clark went with Kara to explain the sudden appearance of another Brainiac, Brainy had taken to tinkering with one of his devices on Kara’s kitchen table, since he may cause a slight panic if he arrived with Clark, and there was nothing else to do for the time being. Unfortunately, he had no such luck on it, though he blamed the fact that he wasn’t in his lab, and it took a while for him to realize it was already nightfall by the time he was done. And even then, he only noticed when Kara and Clark had walked in.

“Hey, Brainy,” Clark yawned out. “Did you stay inside all day?”

“I was working on something,” Brainy explained.

“Of course,” Clark said. He turned to Kara. “Brainy loves working on his inventions all day and night.”

“Sorry we were out all day, but you were fine here, right?” Kara asked.

“It is no trouble,” Brainy said. “I just wanted to tinker with my invention today.”

“Did you have anything to eat?” Kara said.

Clark just looked at her, and laughed. “Oh, Kara,  _ please _ . Brainy doesn’t eat or sleep unless someone reminds him to. And he’s  _ going _ to eat something. Right, Brainy?” He ruffled Brainy’s hair.

“I have some Chinese food in the fridge, if you want some,” Kara offered. “Just heat it up in the microwave right there.” She got out a small white box from the fridge and handed it to Brainy.

Brainy took the small box, opened the microwave, and put the Chinese food inside. He then closed the microwave door, and said, “Cook for three minutes.”

Clark and Kara looked over at him curiously. Brainy just looked at the microwave, confused. He turned to Kara. “I think your microwave is malfunctioning.”

Kara held back a laugh. “No, you need to press the buttons on the side, right there.”

“Welcome to the twenty-first century, Brainy,” Clark shrugged, as Brainy did as he was told, though he looked embarrassed.

“This will take awhile to get used to,” Brainy admitted. He grabbed the food after the microwave beeped, and turned to Clark. “Did you want to stay up with me? We haven’t seen each other in quite a while.”

Clark yawned. “Sorry, Brainy, I’m kinda tired. But I promise we can catch up in the morning, okay?” He moved in to give Brainy a hug, which Brainy happily returned. “Kara and I will take you out to eat and see the sights.”

As Clark left to Kara’s room, Kara stood up. “Wanna eat at the couch? I think I’m gonna watch some movies before bed.”

Brainy nodded. “Sure.” He grabbed a fork and walked to the couch with Kara.

Brainy ate his dinner as Kara sat on the other end of the couch, watching something on television that he didn’t really understand. But he didn’t really remember much, as he fell asleep soon after finishing his dinner.

Next thing he knew, it was morning, and he was resting with his head on Kara’s stomach.

Kara was asleep, her head resting on the couch arm, a blanket wrapped around her body. Brainy was stretched out, his head on Kara’s stomach, his legs stretched out over the couch arm. One of Kara’s hands was on Brainy’s back, the other on his head. Brainy’s arms were loosely wrapped around Kara. He looked up, and saw that Kara was still wearing her glasses and ponytail. She had fallen asleep with the TV still on.

“ _ Ahem.” _

Brainy blinked, looking around for the source of that voice, and saw Clark standing behind the couch. He looked slightly amused at the scene before him, but Brainy could sense a bit of annoyance in his eyes.

“So, you two have fun on the couch?” Clark teased.

“Good morning, Clark,” Brainy said groggily. Kara started to stir awake.

“What’s going on?” Kara said, looking around with tired eyes. “Did I fall asleep on the couch?”

“Yep,” Clark said. “I should’ve taken a picture, you two looked pretty adorable.”

It took Kara a few seconds for her to register what had happened. “Oh, sorry Brainy, I must’ve fallen asleep watching TV.”

“It is fine, I do the same all the time,” Brainy said, starting to get up. “Sorry about falling asleep on you.”

Kara smiled. “It’s no problem, you make a great blanket.”

Brainy smiled and blushed in embarrassment. “Um, sorry again.”

Clark cleared his throat again. “Well, I think I’m gonna go take a quick shower before we head out. You said you have today off, right Kara?”

“Yep,” Kara confirmed. “We can show Brainy around all day today. Brainy, wanna go change into some other clothes that’ll make you fit in?”

“This is all I brought with me,” Brainy revealed. “All of my uniforms are identical.”

“Brainy, really?” Clark sighed. “I thought you said you’d bring something normal.”

“These pants and shirt are made of materials commonly used in the twenty-first century,” Brainy claimed. “A purple shirt and black pants are not unusual attire.”

“No,” Clark said slowly, “but wearing them every day is a little weird. Looks like we know what we’re gonna do first: buy you some clothes.”

Brainy blushed. “You do not have to…”

“I think we have to,” Clark insisted. “If you wanna fit in while we’re staying, then yes, we have to.” His smile weakened a bit. “Now, could you two maybe get off the couch? This is getting a little weird.”

Kara and Brainy separated themselves, as Kara headed into her room to change, while Clark left to the bathroom to put on his casual attire, as Brainy opted to change into a clean outfit in the living room. Brainy thought about Clark’s reaction to his accidental-cuddling with Kara. He started to smile as an idea started forming in his mind.

-

“Kara, I am not wearing that.”

“What, don’t they have crop tops in the thir- where you’re from?” Kara asked.

“Yes, but I am not going to wear that,” Brainy said firmly. “Especially when it has an alien pattern.”

“Why? Is it offensive?” Kara teased. Brainy just rolled his eyes, and didn’t answer.

“Hey, Brai- uh, Brian, how do you like this?” Clark said, holding up a simple white button-up shirt. “Maybe something simple, you know?”

“I like it,” Brainy said, smiling.

“Fine, but I gotta try and get him to wear this,” Kara insisted. Brainy just rolled his eyes.

“Why?”

“Because it’ll be funny.”

Brainy rolled his eyes. “Fine, I will try it on. If only to silence you.” He grabbed the top, and Kara followed, grinning.

“Are you gonna let me take pictures?”

Brainy rolled his eyes, getting into the changing stall. “Kara, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Is there a problem?” Kara asked. “What’s up?”

“No, there is no problem,” Brainy explained. “At least, nothing serious.”

“Okay,” Kara said quietly. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Kara, I have an idea, but you need to keep an open mind,” Brainy insisted.

“What?”

“I was thinking, I like Clark,” Brainy said slowly, “and you like Lena, right?”

“Yes,” Kara said slowly. “B-But don’t tell her, alright?”

“I won’t,” Brainy promised. “But you have not had much success in getting her attention, have you?”

“I don’t know if Lena really likes me like that,” Kara admitted. “Brainy, where is this going?”

“I was thinking that we could pretend to like each other and start dating,” Brainy explained. “But we are not actually dating; we are only acting like we are, so that Clark and Lena can get jealous and want to date us. We can break up in front of them, and they might want to start dating us after seeing what we are like with a romantic partner.”

“Pretend-dating,” Kara said blankly.

“Yes, Kara, there are multiple ways of saying the same thing.”

“Brainy, there are many things that could go wrong with this plan,” Kara said. “I’m pretty sure this is more helpful for you than it is for me, since we’re around Clark all the time. Plus, you’re way too young for me.”

Brainy paused. “How old do I look?”

Kara smiled sweetly. “Seventeen?”

“No.”

“Eightteen.”

“Try again.”

“Sixteen?”

“Kara, I am  _ twenty-three _ !” Brainy sighed. “Listen, I know this sounds weird, but it might just work. You want to be with Lena, don’t you? If she sees you heartbroken after a breakup, she might want to get together with you.”

“Yeah, but this is a weird idea,” Kara admitted. “I mean, no offense.”

“It can not hurt to try,” Brainy said. “It will only be for a short while, and after, we can pretend we never pretend-dated. How does that sound?”

Kara smiled. “You know? This might just work. Now, are you gonna get out of that stall, or what?”

“Are you going to take a picture of me wearing this shirt?”

“Tell you what,” Kara said, “let me take a few pictures of you in that shirt, and I’ll pretend-date you.”

“ _ Three _ pictures, but you cannot show them to Clark.”

“Deal.” Her smile diminished a bit. “But, uh, you’re not gonna start falling in love with me for real, are you?”

“What do you mean?” Brainy asked.

“Well, whenever this kinda stuff happens in movies, one of the couple ends up actually falling in love by the time they’ve broken up,” Kara explained. “So, just promise me you won’t actually fall in love, okay? We’re doing this to make Lena and Clark jealous.”

Brainy sighed. “I think I can promise you that. Let us hope that you do not fall under my irresistible charm.”

Kara giggled. “I’ll try my best.” She smiled when Brainy got out of the stall, wearing the crop top, and readied her phone. “Now, smile!”

Brainy rolled his eyes as Kara took a few selfies of himself in that awful crop top, and disposed of it immediately after she was satisfied.

“You will  _ never _ show those pictures on your phone to Clark,” Brainy said firmly. Kara just smiled.

“So, since we’re pretend-dating now,” Kara said slowly as Brainy got out of the changing room in his usual attire, “what are we supposed to do in front of Clark that makes it look like we’re starting to really like each other?”

“I do not know,” Brainy admitted. “I was hoping you would figure out those details. I have never been in a romantic relationship before. Have you?”

Kara forced a smile. “Y-Yeah. A few. I was in a relationship just a few weeks ago. It didn’t really work out, though.”

Brainy frowned. “I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“It’s fine,” Kara said, “but thanks.”

“Brian, what about these?” Clark said, walking over and handing over a pair of regular jeans. “Everyone wears jeans.”

“Thanks, Clark,” Brainy said grabbing the jeans.

Clark spotted the crop top in his other arm, and smirked. “You thinking about buying that?”

“Nope,” Brainy said bluntly. “Kara thought it would be  _ amusing _ to see me wear this. But I am not buying it.” He walked off to put it back on the clothes rack.

Clark smirked. “You took pictures, right?”

“I promised I wouldn’t show the ones on my phone,” Kara said. “Never said anything about printing them out and letting them slip into your hands, though.”

“And that’s why you’re my favorite biological cousin.”

“I’m your  _ only _ biological cousin, you dork.”

-

“Still lame that you wouldn’t buy that crop top,” Kara lamented as they exited the clothing store.

Brainy rolled his eyes. “I was not going to pay twenty dollars for such a garment.”

“I think you would’ve looked cute in it,” Kara teased, making him blush. And making Clark roll his eyes.

“By the way, sorry for not warning you about cash registers,” Clark said. “Here, our cash registers aren’t voice activated.”

“What made you think cashiers are voice-activated?” Kara asked curiously.

“ _ Everything _ in the thirty-first century is voice-activated,” Brainy said. “Sometimes even the toilets.”

“We’re gonna need to work on that,” Clark said. “I don’t think we can excuse that away by saying you’re foreign.”

“It’s hot out, there’s a place nearby that sells great milkshakes,” Kara said. She looked to Brainy, who was confused.

“What is a milkshake?” Brainy asked.

Kara’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God.” She turned to Clark. “How can there not be milkshakes in the thirty-first century?”

“Lots of things disappear in a thousand years,” Clark said.

“A world without milkshakes sounds horrible,” Kara said, pulling the two into the malt store. “Come on.”

As Kara ordered milkshakes for them, Clark and Brainy looked at each other.

“You and Kara like each other, right?” Clark asked. “It looks like you two are really getting along, now. I’m really happy for the two of you.”

“Of course,” Brainy confirmed. “I mean, our first meeting may not have been…. Successful, but we are really trying to be friends. And I think things between us are going well.”

“That’s great!” Clark said. “It means so much to me that the two of you are becoming friends. You two are my two most favorite people in the world.”

Brainy grinned and blushed at that last part. “T-Thank you, Clark.”

“Brainy,” Kara said, turning around with two milkshakes. “Did you want strawberry or chocolate?”

“I do not know,” Brainy said. “What do you recommend?”

“You and I can share the strawberry,” Kara said, as Clark took the chocolate one for himself enthusiastically. “Now, come on, let’s sit down and talk.”

She led Brainy to a two-person table, though Clark looked slightly disappointed. He pulled over a chair and tried to sit in between, though his legs didn’t feel comfortable tangled with Kara and Brainy’s.

“Sorry, did you wanna sit here?” Kara asked kindly, starting to stand up.

“No, it’s okay,” Clark insisted. “I’ll just sit to the side.” He walked to a small table a bit farther away.

“You did that on purpose,” Brainy muttered under his breath, though he was smiling.

“How else are we supposed to make him jealous?” Kara whispered back. She put two straws into the milkshake. “Here, try it.”

Brainy sucked on the straw, then looked up. “Nothing is coming up.”

Kara laughed. “Then try harder, you wimp.”

Brainy smiled. “Wimp? I have been fighting crime for  _ years _ , now. I am no  _ wimp _ .” He tried drinking the milkshake again.

Kara rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay, shrimp.” She smiled kindly. “Why don’t you tell me a story from the future? Things sound pretty cool, over there. I mean, except for the ‘no milkshakes’ thing.”

“Well,” Brainy said quietly, “I cannot say anything here in public, someone could hear us.”

“Figures,” Kara said, taking the milkshake and taking a few sips. “Tell me stuff about you, then. I bet Clark’s told you loads about me, already.”

“He has,” Brainy admitted. “Clark loves to talk about his family.”

“Why don’t you tell me about your family?” Kara offered.

Instantly, she knew she made a mistake. Brainy’s face was no longer relaxed, the glint in his eyes disappeared as he looked down, his smile diminishing.

“Oh, God, Brain- Brian, I’m so sorry,” Kara said almost immediately. “I didn’t mean to bring up anything painful.”

“It’s fine,” Brainy said quietly. “I am okay. Let’s just change the subject.”

Kara nodded. “R-Right. Well, uh, why don’t you tell me about, uh, yourself? Anything about yourself.”

Brainy nodded. “Well, I graduated college from a young age, and came here soon afterwards. I am very good with technology.”

“Do you think you’ll ever go back to…” Kara was about to say ‘Colu’, but remembered she was in public. “...the Philippines?”

Brainy just stared at her, but started smiling. He leaned in closer to her. “The Philippines? Really?”

“You’re brown-ish,” Kara said, shrugging. “To be honest, you look confusing, with the blond hair and green eyes, and your skin so dark.”

Brainy just rolled his eyes. “I had to think of a human disguise, and this was the closest I could get to my original appearance. I did not want to look too different, Clark says it makes him feel  _ weird _ .”

“Brian,” Kara asked, “Can you tell me how you and Clark met?”

Brainy smiled. “What a day. I cannot give… specific details, but I will say we met at a carnival in Smallville. Clark was helping some people out, and I went over to assist him. I was so impressed by him. Even before… you-know-what, he was already acting like a hero.”

Clark scooted over to join in on the conversation. “And I thought you were the coolest thing ever. I’d never seen anyone like Brainy before in my life.”

Brainy blushed. “Yeah, the two of us were pretty starstruck that day, weren’t we?”

“Yup,” Clark said, nodding. “And we’ve been best friends ever since.”

Kara smiled, standing up. “Well, why don’t we go catch a movie or something?”

“Don’t you wanna introduce him to Alex and the others?” Clark asked her.

Kara thought about it. “Maybe we should give them a chance to cool off. They’re still getting used to the fact that he’s… well, yeah.” She turned to Brainy. “Ever seen a Disney movie?”

“A few,” Brainy admitted.

“Get ready to watch all of them in one sitting, then,” Kara said, smiling at Clark. “Because you  _ need _ to see them.”

Brainy laughed. “If you say so.”

-

Clark wasn’t jealous.

He loves his cousin, and he loves his best friend. And it warmed his heart to see the two of them acting so friendly together. He knew about Kara’s past experiences with the Brainiac family, and not to mention his own. And Brainy was not well-liked by Kryptonians. So seeing them laughing and talking with each other was the most amazing feeling.

The three of them returned from the movie theater after watching a movie, and took to watching several animated Disney movies back at the apartment, per Kara’s request.

“You told me you graduated from college early,” Kara said quietly when she brought them a blanket, as Clark sat on the right of the couch, and Brainy in the center. “How old were you? Seventeen? Eightteen?”

“I was five,” Brainy said, as Kara sat next to him. “Most Coluans attend college at around age ten. But I skipped high school and went straight to college.”

Kara and Clark just stared at him.

“What?” Brainy asked.

“ _ Geez _ , Brainy,” Kara whispered. “That’s  _ insane. _ I could barely read at age five.”

Brainy just rolled his eyes. “Coluans are  _ very _ different from humans. We begin our education before we are even born.”

“Still, that’s really cool,” Kara said, leaning into him a bit as she yawned. “You’re like a little Einstein.”

Brainy just smirked. “Einstein wishes he was at my level of intelligence.”

“And so humble, too,” Kara yawned, leaning into him more. “You know, you’re nothing like how I expected.”

“What did you expect me to be like?” Brainy asked.

“Stiff, rude, condescending,” Kara said sleepily. “You’re actually pretty nice, even after I was rude to you when we first met. You’re a pretty cool guy, Brainy. I mean it.”

He put an arm around her under the blanket. “Thank you. You’re pretty cool, too.” He smiled as Kara leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Don’t you wanna head to bed?” Clark asked Kara.

“I think I’m pretty comfy here,” Kara admitted. “You don’t mind, right, Brainy?” She smiled knowingly at him.

Brainy smiled back. “I do not mind at all.”

Clark nodded. “O-Okay, I’m gonna go sleep for now, though. See you guys in the morning. We’re going to meet Kara’s friend and sister tomorrow.”

“That should be interesting,” Brainy sighed. “Good night, Clark.”

“Good night, Brainy, Kara,” Clark said, turning to go. There was something a bit uncomfortable about seeing Kara and Brainy so close to each other. Kara adjusted her position on the couch, and wrapped her arms around Brainy, who smiled.

Sure, he wanted the two of them to grow closer, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted them to be  _ that _ close.

-

“ _ You’re what? _

Kara smiled. “I’m serious, Clark. I’m thinking I might wanna start dating Brainy.”

“Kara, you two just met,” Clark said. “And are you really ready to start dating again after Mon-El?”

Kara scoffed. “Brainy is not Mon-El. Is this just some dumb guy thing?”

Clark frowned. “What  _ dumb guy thing _ ?”

“That thing where guys don’t want their friends to date their family members,” Kara explained. “I don’t get it, but whatever. Is that it?”

“No, it’s not that,” Clark stated.

“Do you think Brainy wouldn’t make a good boyfriend?” Kara asked.

Clark sighed. “Brainy’s a great guy. I’ve known him for a long time, and I know he’s a good guy with good intentions.”

“So, what is it?” Kara asked. “Why are you so freaked out about me wanting to date him?”

“I just…” Clark said, but switched to a new thought. “You know he’s from the future, right? How are you two gonna make it work?”

“You’re friends with Brainy,” Kara said. “And you two make it work!”

“You just got off of a bad relationship,” Clark said.

“So?” Kara asked. “Brainy isn’t a rebound guy. He’s a really sweet person, and I like him.”

Clark thought around for another argument… and found nothing. “It’s weird.”

“You’re weird.”

“Who’s weird?” Brainy asked, walking into the living room with damp hair, and wearing a plain white shirt with jeans. “I think all of us have many qualities that would classify us as  _ weird _ .”

Kara walked up to Brainy. “Uh, Brainy, I was thinking, after we get away from my friends from the DEO… We could maybe, have dinner out, or maybe go somewhere, I don’t really know.”

“That sounds great,” Brainy said. “Where do you want to go, Clark?”

“Oh, no, Brainy,” Kara said quickly. “I meant, just the two of us.”

Brainy paused. “You mean, as a date?”

“Yep,” Kara nodded. Behind her, Clark looked a bit uncomfortable.

Brainy smiled, and started to blush. “That would be great! T-Thank you, Kara.”

As Clark walked towards the bathroom to shower, Kara grinned. “That was pretty convincing, right?”

“This may actually work,” Brainy said. “Thank you so much for helping me.”

“No problem,” Kara said. “Besides, those pictures were more than enough payment.”

Brainy frowned. “Very funny. Now, do you think your friends from the DEO… Winn and Alex? Do you think they are comfortable with the idea of meeting me?”

Kara shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out.”

-

They were sitting on opposite ends of the table, with Clark sitting on the third side. Winn Schott Jr. and Alex Danvers were sitting on one side, Kara and Brainy on the other. There was a margherita pizza between them. Brainy took a slice for himself, trying to ignore the stares of the two people across from him. It was totally quiet, as they decided to eat their pizza at a table outside of the pizza place, where they could have some privacy.

“So, Brainy,” Clark said, trying to break the awkward moment. “You ever had pizza?”

Brainy rolled his eyes. “Yes, Clark. I have never had a margherita pizza, though.”

“I didn’t know robots could eat,” Winn admitted.

Brainy’s eyebrows dipped down in annoyance. “I am  _ not _ a robot.”

“Forgive us for the mistake,” Alex said blankly. “The last of  _ your kind _ that we met was an android.”

“Yes,” Brainy said, “ _ my kind _ tend to be part-mechanical.”

“But you’re not?” Winn asked. “How did that happen?”

“I would like to know that, too,” Alex said.

Brainy started to grow uneasy at Alex’s stare. How could she look so intimidating just from looking at him? “W-Well, it is complicated. Basically, Clark and I removed the part of my brain that was connected to my ancestors, and that meant removing all mechanical parts of my body, as well. And I became fully organic.”

“And you really trust this man, Clark?” Alex asked. “Are you sure he will never turn on you, or the rest of us?”

“I’ve known him for  _ years _ ,” Clark explained. “He’s part of a future team of superheroes, and he’s one of my best friends. You guys need to relax.”

“And I apologize on behalf of my ancestors,” Brainy said. “I know that they have done awful things, and I know it has affected you two personally, and that is why I try and help the people of Earth as best as I can. And I apologize to the two of you for what they’ve done. I hope that you can forgive me.”

Winn started to smile, although he looked a bit unsure. “That wasn’t your fault, but thanks. It means a lot.”

Alex just nodded. “And how long will you be staying?”

Brainy paused. “I am not sure. I am in no hurry to go back to the future, as I can return the very moment I left. Perhaps a few days.”

“What’s the future like?” Winn asked suddenly, leaning over a bit closer as he grabbed a pizza. “Or is that classified?”

“I would have to erase your memory,” Brainy confirmed. “But I can tell you that things are very different in the thirty-first century.”

“It’s worth it,” Winn claimed. “Can’t you tell me  _ something _ ?”

“No.”

“Stop drooling, Winn,” Kara teased. “He’s taken. And so are you.”

“By who?”

“Siobhan.”

“No,  _ him _ .”

“O-Oh,” Kara said, starting to blush. “W-Well, I asked him out on a date, tonight.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “ _ Kara _ .”

“I think we’ve already established that Brainy is a good guy,” Kara stated. “So there is  _ nothing _ wrong with this.”

“I have  _ many  _ concerns,” Alex said.

“So did I,” Clark sighed.

“Well, I don’t know if you should, Kara,” Alex stated. “You remember how things ended with Mon-El.”

“That was  _ different _ ,” Kara insisted. “Brainy is a good guy, Clark can tell you!”

“He is,” Clark said. “And even though it’s a little weird, I know Brainy’s gonna be good to Kara.”

“He better be,” Alex said, eyeing Brainy, who was starting to look uncomfortable.

-

“I don’t know if I like the DEO,” Brainy muttered, as he finished the last of the paperwork.

“What makes you say that?” Kara asked, as she watched him. Her paperwork was already done.

“Well, I am filling in an application for the allowance of an inter-species relationship,” Brainy started. He lowered his voice. “A relationship which, may I add, is not even  _ real _ .”

“That’s mandatory,” Kara said. 

“And the fact that every single other person in this room is pointing a gun at my face.”

Kara glared at the others, but smiled down at Brainy as sweetly as she could. “Safety precaution.”

“Were the sexual harassment sessions really necessary?”

“Yes,” Alex said, walking in. “I am not taking any chances.”

“I don’t even work here,” Brainy stated.

“No, but you’re dating my sister,” Alex stated. “And you  _ will _ keep your hands away from Kara. Or I will shoot your hand off.”

“ _ Alex _ ,” Kara groaned. “I just  _ barely _ asked him out a few hours ago. Please don’t scare him off before we even go to our first date.”

“No promises,” Alex said, still staring down at Brainy. He just frowned at her, though smiled at Kara.

“So, where are we going for our date?” Brainy asked.

Kara thought about it, and smiled. “Have you ever gone to a club before?”

-

“Kara!” Brainy shouted over the music. “You look great!”

Kara smiled. She had worn a black dress to the club, though wore a scarf to hide her bare shoulders. Still, she kept on her glasses and ponytail. She smiled at Brainy’s outfit; basic black pants and a green T-shirt, and wearing a black blazer over the shirt. “You look pretty cute, yourself.”

Brainy blushed. “Thanks. Wanna dance?”

Kara looked down. “Oh, I’m not really that good at dancing…”

“I’m not either,” Brainy admitted. “But, you might wanna go see who just walked in…”

Kara turned to the entrance, and was pleasantly surprised to see Lena walking in, wearing a black minidress. Clark also came to the club earlier than them, though Kara knew that it was only because of Alex’s suggestion. Brainiac or not, Alex still wanted to make sure Brainy was keeping his hands to himself.

“Maybe we could sit down somewhere,” Kara suggested. “I don’t wanna embarrass myself, dancing badly in front of Lena Luthor.”

Brainy glanced over at Clark, who was pretending not to look at them. “Same here.”

The two walked off and sat down on two chairs, though Kara paused to get some water. As the two sat down, Brainy thought. “Do you think something like this would ever happen?”

“Like what?” Kara asked. “What do you mean?”

“You fake-dating a Brainiac,” Brainy explained. “And me fake-dating a Kryptonian.”

“Definitely not,” Kara admitted. She smiled sadly. “So, I guess being a Brainiac isn’t fun, huh?”

“It’s not,” Brainy said, barely audible. He frowned into his drink. “All my life, I was expected to follow in my ancestor’s footsteps, so the Coluans tried to stamp it out of me by having me do constant work and studying to distract my mind. My parents… were not around, so it just meant more time for me to spend on my education. I do not know who my father was, and my mother abandoned me soon after I was born. I did not have a good childhood on Colu. All I ever wanted to do was to escape that terrible place. Everything changed for me when I came to Earth and became part of the Legion.”

“You came out all the way to Earth just to get away from all that?” Kara asked.

“Not exactly,” Brainy explained. “On Earth, in the 31st century, there is not widespread knowledge of Brainiac 1, so I could at least know that there was not going to be much discrimination from humans. But still, I felt like such an outsider, even with the Legion.”

“I understand how that feels,” Kara said. “Feeling like an outsider.”

“I know you would,” Brainy said gently. “You are a Kryptonian, after all.”

“Do you miss home?” Kara asked.

“Never,” Brainy admitted.

“So, Clark knows about your past?” Kara asked.

“Not a lot,” Brainy admitted. “He knows about Brainiac, and how I came to Earth and how I felt like an outsider, but I have not told him much about my childhood.” Suddenly, his face lit up. “Ah! I almost forgot!” Brainy reached into his jacket pocket and brought out a small box of chocolates. “These are for you.”

Kara smiled at him. “Well, aren’t you sweet? You didn’t have to, Brainy, I mean, we’re not really...”

“But I wanted to,” Brainy insisted. “I appreciate that you have been open-minded with me, Kara, even though we have just met. And especially considering my family history.”

Kara smiled. “Really, Brainy, this is no problem. I mean, fake-dating isn’t so bad. Especially after my last relationship.”

“What happened?” Brainy asked. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well, the last guy I dated was kind of a jerk,” Kara admitted. “It was going good at first, but things kind of went downhill after a while. Then I found out he was lying to me, and then… well, it gets kind of complicated, but things didn’t go so well.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Brainy said, “but maybe after this is all over, you can be in a real, happy relationship with Lena.”

“I hope so, too,” Kara said, and smiled. “And thanks, Brainy, you’re actually a pretty cool date.”

“Thank you,” Brainy said, blushing a bit. “Did you want to try dancing again?”

Kara looked out at the crowd of dancing people. “Well, if you really wanna try it out, we can maybe try something simple.”

“Simple is good,” Brainy said, as the two stood up.

“Don’t you have dancing on Colu?” Kara asked.

“Yes,” Brainy admitted. “I just never had the opportunity to learn. Though most people on Colu saw dancing as something silly and childish. Do you know how to dance?”

“A little bit,” Kara said. She put one hand on his shoulder, the other she used to grab his hand. Brainy put his other hand on her back. Kara started to move to the rhythm of the music, and Brainy tried to follow.

“How about you tell me some stuff about where you’re from?” Kara asked.

“What do you mean?” Brainy asked.

“You know…” Kara said, trying to think. “Uh… Japan?”

“I thought I was from the Philippines,” Brainy said, smiling.

“It’s hard to keep track,” Kara joked.

“I’m going to get another drink,” Brainy said. “How do you order something non-alcoholic?”

“Ask the guy for an iced coffee,” Kara recommended. As Brainy left to get his drink, Kara saw Clark approaching.

“Has Brainy been keeping his hands to himself?” Clark asked. “Alex is making me ask you that.”

“Oh, he’s been a real gentleman,” Kara said in a silly British accent. “Absolutely spiffy.”

“What’s  _ spiffy _ ?” Clark asked.

“I dunno, but Brainy bought me chocolates,” Kara said, grinning. “Isn’t that sweet?”

“I’m glad he’s treating you right, Kara,” Clark said. “Sorry I was weirded out by you two earlier. I really am happy you’re dating a guy like Brainy.”

“He’s really nice,” Kara said. “I gotta admit, I didn’t think a Brainiac could be so not-evil.”

Clark turned serious, and lowered his voice. “Kara, he’s been through a lot. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff he’s had to go through, because of that symbol on his forehead. In the future, he’s always being judged, even though he’s a part of a superhero team. And even then, he’s still such a great guy. Thanks for being nice to him, Kara, even if you almost killed him the first time you saw him.”

Kara sighed. “I apologized for that.”

“I know,” Clark said. “I’m gonna go and pretend like I’m doing what Alex told me to do, you two have fun.” He playfully glared at her. “But not too much fun.”

“Oh, geez,” Kara said, smiling as she looked over at Brainy. He had just gotten his drink, and looked at it cautiously, before taking a sip.

“Having fun?” Kara asked, walking. “Still can’t believe Alex sent Clark here to babysit. As if you could, or would, do anything to me.”

Brainy smiled. “I doubt I could ever physically harm you.”

“She’s not worried about that kind of harm,” Kara said. “She just doesn’t wanna see me go through an unhealthy relationship again.”

“I see,” Brainy said. “You are lucky to have a sister that cares for you so much.”

“This is the same sister that pointed a gun at your head, remember?” Kara said, laughing a bit. “If that’s not caring, I don’t know what is.”

Brainy laughed. He tried to cover up his mouth with his hand, though Kara caught a glimpse of his smile before his hand could hide it. Kara grinned, bringing a hand to the top of Brainy’s head and brushing his hair back.

“You know, you look pretty cute when you laugh,” Kara said faintly. She smiled, looking down. “Brainy, would it be okay, if we… if we kiss?”

Brainy seemed surprised at that, but he smiled in an embarrassed sort of way. “I-I have never been kissed before.”

“Do you want to see what it’s like?” Kara asked. “I mean, we’re fake-dating now. Now’s a good time to learn.”

Brainy grinned. “Well, I do not see a reason why we can’t.”

Kara leaned over, holding Brainy close to her with one hand on his waist, the other on the back of his head, pulling him closer. She closed her eyes as their lips met.

She could feel Brainy’s hesitance at first, though he slowly relaxed into the kiss, letting himself lean a bit closer into Kara, as he hugged her back. She took that as an opportunity to hold him even closer, her hand playing with his hair a bit.

Kara reluctantly pulled back from the kiss when she had to breathe, and smiled down at Brainy. “Was that okay?”

Brainy smiled back at her. “Yes. That was…an interesting experience.” He looked over. “Did Clark see us?”

“I don’t think he did,” Kara said, not even looking over. “Why don’t we try it again, until he sees us?”

“Okay,” Brainy said, as Kara leaned over once more for their lips to meet. They only stopped when Brainy had to pull away to breathe again.

“I think Clark saw that,” Brainy said, glancing in Clark’s direction, who quickly turned away when he saw Brainy looking over.

Kara giggled. “Wait, I think Lena’s looking over at us! I think we should try it again…” She leaned over again to rest her lips against Brainy’s once more.

Kara had stopped kissing Brainy’s lower lip when she noticed Clark approaching. “Hey, cuz! Having a good time?”

Clark smiled. “Y-Yeah, but I’m not much for clubbing. How about you, Brainy?”

“Well, I am having a  _ great  _ time,” Brainy said brightly, reaching over to hold Kara’s hand. “Because I am spending it with the  _ greatest  _ girlfriend.”

Brainy earned himself another kiss from Kara with that.

-

By the time they got home, Kara was starting to like the feeling of Brainy’s arm linked with hers, as they walked back to Kara’s apartment.

“Thanks for taking me out,” Brainy said. “I’ve never been to a club before.”

“They don’t have them where you’re from?” Kara asked.

“Yes,” Brainy said, “but I have never had the opportunity to go to one. I invent weapons and other useful inventions for the Legion of Super Heroes, so I rarely have time to go out.”

“Well, Brainy,” Kara said, “I will be happy to take you out anywhere you wanna go, while you’re here. Doesn’t matter what it is, I just want you to be happy.”

“Kara, you don’t need to do that,” Brainy said, surprised.

“I know I don’t need to,” Kara said. “Listen, I know you don’t have a lot of opportunities to go out and be a normal guy. So I’m giving you the opportunity.” She rested a hand on his head. “I really care about you, Brainy. You’re my friend.”

Brainy smiled. “Thank you, Kara. You’re a good friend.”

Kara wondered if ‘friend’ was really what she wanted Brainy to call her, though she pushed the thought out of her head. She was surprised to find that Clark was already inside of her apartment, judging from the lights being on. She walked in, and found him watching something on TV.

“Hey, cuz,” she said, as Brainy went over to sit next to Clark, and Kara joined him. “You got here early.”

“Clubbing isn’t really my thing,” Clark said, shrugging. He smiled at Brainy. “Tomorrow, you wanna go crime-fighting? Just like the old times?”

“Clark, I cannot interfere with time  _ too  _ much,” Brainy said. “Besides, you don’t need my help, National City has two great superheroes protecting it already. But I will be happy to cheer you on from the sidewalk.”

“Then, how about we head to bed, and we can think about it tomorrow?” Clark asked. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m  _ pooped _ .”

“Brainy, do you wanna sleep in my room?” Kara asked.

Brainy and Clark looked surprised at this, and Brainy started blushing furiously, and tried to hide it.

“Wow, Kara, pretty bold for the first date,” Clark joked. “You’re joking, right?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha. Don’t be gross, Clark. I was just thinking we could cuddle for a bit, is that wrong?”

“In that case, I’ll sleep on the couch,” Clark said. “In case you two decide to-”

“ _ Clark _ ,” Kara interrupted. “Come on, we’re just gonna cuddle, is that so bad?”

Brainy smiled shyly. “I promise nothing will happen, Clark. But please, do not tell Alex. She might kill me.”

Clark smiled. “Alright, you two go have fun. But remember, I have super hearing. Be considerate of that fact.”

Kara smacked him playfully. “Don’t be a perv.” She and Brainy went to change into their pajamas separately, and Brainy soon knocked on Kara’s bedroom door.

“Come in,” Kara said, and Brainy opened the door to Kara’s room. He blushed a bit.

“I have never slept with a girl before,” Brainy admitted. “Literally, I mean.”

“Well, come on, I don’t bite,” Kara teased, making room on the bed for him. Brainy was thankful that she wore regular pink polka-dot pajamas, and he wore a basic shirt with boxer shorts. He crawled into bed, facing Kara.

“Good night, Kara,” Brainy yawned. “Thanks for the great day today.”

“It was my pleasure,” Kara said, getting closer to him and pulling up the covers. “Goodnight, Brainy.”

-

When they woke up, Kara was pleased to find that she had Brainy in her arms, and he was softly snoring, his arms wrapped loosely around her.

Kara looked at Brainy’s face. His face was totally relaxed in sleep. Kara noticed that Brainy sometimes seemed tense, though now that he was asleep, he looked very content. She brushed his short, blond hair back from his eyes.

Kara took a minute to appreciate Brainy’s appearance without the ID mask on. His dark green skin was a nice color on him, even if the three circles on his forehead unnerved her just a bit, even now. He was fairly thin, though she could see that he had a bit of muscle. He was short, about a head shorter than herself, but she liked how cute and small he was. His hair was short, about Clark’s length, and pale blond. He brushed it back usually, but Kara liked how it looked, messed up in his sleep.

She reached out and stroked Brainy’s hair. It was nice and soft, too. Kara carefully planted a kiss on his forehead.

_ ‘He’s so cute,’  _ Kara thought, smiling.

She started to wonder if maybe she could convince him to date her for real. She’s only known him for two days, but she was really starting to think about dating him. She was only fake-dating him, yet he was already a better boyfriend than her previous one.

Brainy started to stir. Kara smiled when he opened his eyes. “Good morning, sleepyhead.”

Brainy smiled. “Good morning, Kara.” He noticed that Kara was embracing him, and he carefully pulled away, to Kara’s slight disappointment.

“Did you sleep well?” Kara asked.

Brainy nodded. “You?”

“Same here,” Kara said. “I’m going to work today, so you and Clark can take some time to spend the day together, how does that sound?”

Brainy smiled. “That sounds great. I haven’t seen Clark is so long, it will be good to catch up. Do you think Clark is starting to get jealous?”

Kara’s smile faltered a bit. “I’m not sure. But you and Clark should have some fun, alright? Just not too much fun.”

Brainy smiled, then started to blush. “Thanks for letting me sleep on your bed. Just, please, do not tell the others. Especially your sister Alex. She scares me.”

Kara laughed. “Don’t be so scared, she’s nice if you get to know her.”

They heard a knock on the door.

“Who could that be?” Brainy asked, then his eyes widened. “Please tell me it’s not your sister.”

Kara used her X-ray vision to look at her front door. “Lena’s here again.”

“Lena Luthor?” Brainy asked. He quickly pulled on a pair of pants. “Oh, goodness. I don’t want you to get embarrassed if she sees me undressed.” He pulled off his shirt, his back turned to Kara, and pulled out a new one that Clark bought him. “I don’t want her to think we, uh…”

“I know,” Kara said, blushing as she covered up her pajama top with a jacket. “I wonder why she’s visiting so early?”

Kara walked to her front door and opened it to see Lena, dressed in her usual professional-looking attire. Kara felt particularly embarrassed in her pajamas and a white sweater, with bed hair.

“Lena!” Kara said, smiling. “Hey! Hi! It’s good to see you!”

Lena smiled. “It’s good to see you too, Kara.” Lena spotted Kara’s two roommates behind Kara, and smiled in an embarrassed sort of way. “Hello, Clark, Brian.”

Kara turned around, only to find Clark shirtless, just barely starting to button up his shirt, and Brainy, or “Brian”, blushing and pretending he wasn’t staring by putting on his sneakers, his hair still messy and his shirt not fully buttoned-up, either.

“Hi, Lena,” Clark said, buttoning his shirt up as fast as humanly possible.

“Good morning,” ‘Brian’ said politely.

“U-Um, Kara, can we talk?” Lena asked. “It’s just that… I went to the club last night, and I saw you there.”

“Oh,” Kara said, as she and Lena walked back inside. “You saw me there, with Bra- Brian?”

“Yeah,” Lena said. “It’s just that, I know you and Mike broke up, and I was wondering if you were okay.”

Kara smiled gently. “Listen, I know Mike was a jerk, but Brian is different. And he’s treating me right.”

Lena eyed Brian, who was now headed towards the kitchen, while Clark went to help him make something. Though it was obvious that neither of them wanted to interrupt their conversation.

“I’m really happy for you, if that’s the case,” Lena said. “You two seemed pretty happy together, last night.

“Y-Yeah,” Kara said, smiling. “I just thought it was time to be in a relationship with someone who actually treats me right, you know?”

“And Brian is an old friend of Clark’s?” Lena asked.

“A very old friend,” Kara said, “they go way back.” ‘ _ Well, sort of.’ _

“What does he do?” Lena asked. “His job, I mean.”

“I made pancakes,” ‘Brian’ said, bursting into the room with Clark, two glasses of milk in his hands, and Clark carrying the plates of pancakes.

“Well,  _ I  _ made pancakes,” Clark admitted. “Brian helped me mix the batter.”

Kara smiled. “Thanks, babe.” She went over and gave him a quick peck on his forehead.

“ _ I _ made the pancakes, why don’t I get a kiss?” Clark teased.

“Gross,” Kara said, playfully shoving him away. “Lena, do you want some? There’s enough for everyone.”

Lena smiled at the three of them. “Thanks, but I’ve already eaten breakfast. So, what  _ do _ you do, Brian?”

“I am a computer programmer,” Brian said.

“And you’re from Metropolis?”

“No.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Kara and Brian glanced at Clark, who blushed. “I mean, he visits Metropolis often, but he’s not from there.”

“So, where is he from?”

“Norway,” Clark blurted out. Brainy’s smile started to look a bit more like a grimace.

“Norway,” Lena said in a disbelieving voice. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but, you don’t look or sound Norwegian.”

“Oh, he’s mixed race,” Clark said quickly. “He’s… half-white.”

“What’s the other half?” Lena asked.

“I don’t know,” Brainy said, speaking quietly. “I… I never knew my real family.”

Lena paused. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“It’s fine, really,” Brainy insisted, smiling weakly.

“I just came by to congratulate you on your new relationship, Kara,” Lena said. “I should get to work. Hopefully, I’ll see you around.” She turned to go.

“Wait,” Kara said suddenly. “Clark, Bra- Brian and I were gonna go out after I got off from work. We’d love to have you join us for a quick bite and maybe go ice-skating.”

“Ice skating?” Brainy asked. “I’ve never gone ice-skating.”

“Which is why I’m gonna love to see you slip around all over the ice,” Kara said, smiling sweetly. She turned back to Lena. “Please?”

“Oh, I don’t wanna be a bother,” Lena said.

“You’re my friend, you won’t be a bother,” Kara insisted. “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

Lena started to smile. “Sure. Tonight?”

“Tonight at seven,” Kara confirmed.

Lena grinned. “I’ll see you there.”

-

“So, are you having a good time?”

Kara pouted at Brainy, who started to skate in circles around her and Clark, who was shakily holding onto her shoulder.

“Oh, ha, ha,” Kara said, trying to playfully swat him, though he was too quick. “Why are you so good at this? I thought you said you’ve never gone ice skating.”

“I guess I am just a natural,” Brainy said airily, shrugging his shoulders. He started twirling a bit in front of her. “Unlike  _ some _ people here.”

Lena laughed as she skated over. “Do you two need help?”

It was at that precise moment that Clark slipped and fell, nearly taking Kara down with him.

“Clark!” Kara gasped, bending down to help him, and was thankful to see that Clark, and the ice underneath him, was fine.

“I’m okay,” Clark said, getting back up. “My ego is just bruised, is all.”

“How about we try that again?” Kara said, helping him stand up straight. “But less falling down, hopefully?”

“We can only hope,” Clark said, letting go of Kara and trying to go forward, but there was no such luck.

“Have you tried actually  _ moving your feet _ ?” Brainy teased, once again going around him in loops.

“You know he’s right,” Lena said, smirking. “Do you two need a little push?”

“No, no no no no no,” Clark said quickly, “no pushing. If I go down, this ice rink is  _ done _ , I’m a big man.”

“Oh, ha, ha,” Lena said, moving behind Kara. “Here, just one little push…” She gently rested her hand against Kara’s upper back and gave her a small push.

Kara started slowly moving forward, though Brainy was quick to grab her hand and help her keep steady.

“Here, just kind of move your feet like you’re walking,” Brainy explained. “But without lifting your feet from the ice. Like this, see?”

“I kind of get it,” Kara said. She lowered her voice. “But I’m more scared of falling and breaking the ice.”

“See? Now you’re getting it!” Lena said, skating up to them. “Brian, you’re pretty good at this.”

“This is my first time skating,” he admitted.

“I think it’s time we head out, though,” Clark said, noting that the crowd was starting to thin out. “Call it a night.”

“Thanks for keeping me steady,” Kara said, as they started skating towards the edge of the ice rink.

“No problem,” Brainy said, leaning in for a quick kiss on the lips. Kara started to lean in, too…

...though she started to slip on her skates, and fell forward. Brainy was lucky to catch her in his arms. And his face.

“Oh, gosh!” Kara gasped, when she saw Brainy’s nose starting to bleed. “Oh, gosh, Brian!”

“What happened?” Clark said, as he and Lena skated up to them. “Geez, your nose! WHat happened?”

“Kara slipped on the ice,” Brainy said, covering his nose, “but she’s fine.”

“Oh, man, that looks bad,” Lena said, pulling a tissue from her purse. “Here, do you think we need to take you to a doctor?”

Brainy took the tissue and wiped his face, and started to feel his nose. “It is fine, I think I am just bruised.” His voice was sounding a bit nasally.

“Oh, Brian, I am so, so,  _ so _ sorry,” Kara said, helping him out of the ice and sitting down next to him. She grabbed more tissues and started helping him clean the blood from his face. “Can you believe this isn’t the first time this has happened to me?”

Brainy laughed. “I think I’m fine. It’s not so bad.” He noticed that the blood was starting to thin out. “It was just an accident.” He wiped off the last of the blood. “I am fine, really.”

“I’m glad,” Kara said, kissing the top of Brainy’s forehead. “I think it’s time we go home, then.”

“It was a lot of fun,” Lena said, taking off the skates as she and the others exited the ice. “Thanks for inviting me, Kara.”

“No problem,” Kara said, hugging Lena briefly.

“We should do this again,” Lena teased.

“No,” Kara said firmly. “Next time, we’re gonna somewhere nicer. And warmer. Like the pool, or the beach.”

“Ahem,” Brainy said. “Not all of us are  _ that  _ confident in our bodies.”

“So the game of strip poker is off, then?” Kara teased.

“Ha, ha.”

Lena just rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, you guys.” She walked towards her car.

“That was close,” Clark sighed. “If I didn’t hover above the ground right when I did, I’d have a lot of weird questions to answer.”

“I think you should go on ahead, Clark,” Kara said. “I, uh, wanted to take Brainy out somewhere special, just the two of us.”

“O-Oh,” Clark said, smiling nervously. “Well, you two have fun. I’ll head back to your apartment.”

“Thanks, cuz,” Kara said, and lead Brainy away.

“Ah, a private outing?” Brainy whispered, as they walked down the street. “A good idea. Are we really going somewhere?”

“Yes,” Kara said. “I just need to change first. Come on, in here.”

She lead him towards a dark alley. Brainy grew concerned. “Kara, what are we doing?”

Brainy couldn’t see in the dark, though the sound of Kara unzipping her jacket made him realize she was changing into her superhero uniform. Despite it being too dark to see, he instinctively covered his eyes with his hands.

“I’m already changed,” Kara said only seconds later. “You don’t need to cover your eyes.”

Brainy uncovered his eyes. “Why are you in your Supergirl costume? Where are we- Oh!”

Kara had grabbed Brainy by his back and the back of his knees, and lifted him up in a bridal carry.

“We’re going somewhere pretty far,” Kara said, and started to fly away.

“Where are we going?” Brainy yelled, as Kara flew high above the city.

“Well, Clark told me something pretty interesting about the future,” Kara admitted. “So, close your eyes. I want you to be surprised.”

“What did Clark tell you?” Brainy asked, though closed his eyes. “Nothing too revealing, I hope.”

“Nothing bad,” Kara insisted. “Come on, we’re almost there.”

The two flew in silence for a while, with only the sounds of the wind in their ears to distract them. After what seemed like forever, though, Kara finally started flying downwards. Brainy was surprised to hear  _ nothing _ . Wherever they were, it was almost totally quiet, though he could hear running water very faintly.

“Kara, where are we?” Brainy asked. “Can I open my eyes now?”

“Go ahead, open them,” Kara said.

Brainy opened his eyes, and instantly found himself breathless.

Wherever they were, the place had the most  _ enormous _ trees he had ever seen, and with very thick, almost reddish trunks. It was a little chilly, and just the slightest bit foggy. Everything was either a shade of brown or green. There was a bit of moss all around their feet and the ground. It was dark, but the moonlight streamed through the treetops, though he wasn’t sure how that was even possible. It was as though the sky was never there, and instead the leaves acted like a ceiling.

“Kara, oh my goodness,” Brainy whispered.

“Clark told me that there aren’t a lot of trees in the thirty-first century,” Kara explained. “And I know you- and I’m using Clark’s words here- ‘ _ never get out of that lab’ _ , so I thought maybe I could show you something that you’ve never seen before.”

Brainy took off his ID mask, revealing his green skin. His face was full of wonder, as he reached out to touch the nearest tree. “We have tree museums back home, but we are not allowed to touch the trees. I have never seen a tree so  _ large, _ or so  _ tall _ . This is…  _ amazing _ .” He reached down to touch the moss on the ground. Kara smiled as he took to observing everything around him that had green on it. “I have never seen grass like this. This is…” He got back up, and Kara was surprised to see him a bit misty-eyed. “Kara, oh my  _ goodness _ .”

Kara grinned. “Do you like it?”

Brainy hugged her close, smiling widely. “Kara, you don’t understand how amazing this is! On Colu, we don’t have trees or grass, and on Earth, we have managed to get our resources in new ways, so we don’t need trees. But this is…  _ wow _ . I have seen trees around the city before, but it is nothing like this.”

Kara smiled, absentmindedly stroking his hair. “I’m glad you like it, Brainy. I like coming to this place sometimes, too. Sometimes just to think.”

“Kara, this is really cool,” Brainy said, hugging her just a bit tighter. “Thank you so much for taking me here.”

Brainy separated himself from the hug a bit, and Kara looked into his light green eyes. She gave him a quick kiss on his forehead.

Brainy blushed. “Kara, thank you so much for this. You’re a really good friend.” He hugged her again, smiling.

“Thanks,” Kara whispered, though she started to frown at that last word.

-

Kara let Brainy sleep in her bed again. Clark was asleep on the couch again, with the TV left on.

Brainy was extra-affectionate with her, which she couldn’t help but enjoy. He gave her one more hug after the two of them were in their sleepwear. “Thanks again, Kara.”

Kara tried to think. “Brainy, isn’t there something you want to talk about?”

“What do you mean?” Brainy asked.

“Well, about our relationship,” Kara said slowly.

“I am not sure if now is the time to break things off in front of Clark,” Brainy said.

“I-I think so too,” Kara said. “We can keep this going as long as you want, Brainy. There’s no rush. In fact, I was thinking...”

“Guys?”

The two turned to see Clark standing in the doorway, looking a bit sleepy, with his hair messed up.

“Hi, Clark,” Brainy said.

“You two had a good time?” Clark asked. “Care to tell me where you two went?”

“I think that is our little secret,” Brainy said, blushing.

Clark raised an eyebrow.

Brainy sighed. “We did not have sex.”

Clark relaxed. “Thanks, because this could’ve gotten really awkward.”

“I just showed Brainy something pretty cool,” Kara said.

“Y-Yeah,” Brainy said, smiling at her. “It was pretty incredible. Thank you for taking me there, Kara.” He gave her a quick kiss on her lips, which she smiled at.

Clark yawned. “Well, I’m glad you two had such a good time. But, Kara, can I talk to Brainy, alone?”

“Sure,” Kara said, and Brainy got up from the bed and followed Clark to the living room couch.

“Is something wrong?” Brainy asked.

“Brainy, you’re one of my best friends ever,” Clark started. “And I love that you and Kara have a pretty good relationship so far. But I have some concerns.”

“It’s about  _ time _ , isn’t it?”

Clark sighed. “Well, yeah. Brainy, Kara doesn’t really understand the whole traveling-through-time thing. And I know what you’re gonna say.”

“ _ We _ have made this work,” Brainy reminded him. “We are still friends, Clark. I travel back in time to meet you often.”

“But Kara isn’t used to time travel,” Clark said carefully. “And I know she might have feelings for Lena Luthor, which might make things a little complicated.”

Brainy looked up at him. “I know we have not been dating for long, but…”

“I just don’t think Kara is gonna like this,” Clark said gently. “She’s a busy woman, Brainy. And even I struggle to make time for us to hang out. Can you imagine Kara trying to balance her job and crime-fighting with having a time-traveling boyfriend?”

“ _ You _ can manage it,” Brainy argued.

“Yes,  _ I _ can,” Clark said. “Nothing against Kara, but she’s going through some rough times right now, and I don’t know if she needs to add a time-traveling boyfriend into the mix. Especially after her last boyfriend made a mess of things.”

Brainy frowned. “You want me to break up with her.”

“I just don’t want her to get too hurt down the line,” Clark said gently. “Or you. You understand?” He put a hand on Brainy’s back.

Brainy sighed. “I understand.”

-

“We’re breaking up?” Kara asked.

Brainy nodded. “I’m sorry. Clark just… opened my eyes last night.”

“So you’re really gonna break up with me  _ now _ ?”

“I’m sorry,” Brainy repeated. “I just don’t want you getting hurt later on.”

“But we’ve been so happy together,” Kara argued. “How can you do this?”

“Kara, if we keep this going, we’re just gonna doom ourselves to a failing relationship,” Brainy insisted. “If we break up now, it won’t be as bad, I promise.”

Kara looked like she was about to argue, though she couldn’t speak with the lump in her throat. Despite herself, she started to tear up. She began to sniffle.

“I’m so sorry, Kara,” Brainy whispered, hugging her. “I know this is hard, but I promise this is for the best.”

Kara could only sniffle in response. From the corner of her eye, she could see Clark in the living room, walking up to her bedroom door.

“You guys okay in there?” Clark asked weakly, walking into Kara’s bedroom. He spotted Brainy’s upset face, and Kara’s tear-streaked cheeks. “O-Oh, guys, I’m so sorry.”

“We’re fine,” Kara said, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “We just, uh… Well, we broke up. But you’re right, Clark. It had to be done.”

Clark sighed. “I’m sorry, you guys. I just think you two would be better off as friends right now.”

“I understand,” Kara whispered, separating herself from Brainy. “It’s fine, really.”

“I’m gonna go make you guys something to eat, okay?” Clark said, heading into the kitchen.

Brainy watched him go into the kitchen, and smiled up at Kara. “That went  _ great _ !”

Kara smiled, nodding. “Yeah. Guess this is all over, huh?”

“No more pretend-dating,” Brainy confirmed. “Kara, I can’t believe you actually cried! That was so  _ convincing _ !”

“Yeah,” Kara said. “I really wanted to sell it, you know?”

Brainy hugged her again. “Kara, thanks so much for helping me out. I know it wasn’t for long, but it means a lot to me.” He separated himself from her. “And now you might even get Lena’s attention.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Kara said, nodding. “You never know.”

Brainy headed into the kitchen to eat, though Kara wiped a few more tears from her eyes before following him.

-

It didn’t take long for Brainy to ‘move on’ from his relationship. Kara could see that after a few days, he and Clark had taken to flirting, though they tried not to in front of Kara, despite the two agreeing to stay friends in front of Clark. Kara tried hard to keep her true feelings hidden away whenever she caught the two staring at each other, or Clark running his hands through Brainy’s hair. It took a week for Clark to bring up the subject again with Kara in private one night, in her apartment, while Brainy was taking a shower.

“Kara? Do you think it would be wrong for Brainy to start dating again, so soon after you two broke up?”

Kara shook her head. “Brainy’s allowed to date whoever he wants, Clark, and whenever he wants.”

“Kara, this might sound weird,” Clark said, “but what if I told you…  _ I  _ wanted to date Brainy?”

“I think that’s great,” Kara said. “I mean, you two are so close. I think you two would be really happy together.”

“Are you sure?” Clark asked. “I just don’t want things to be awkward between us.”

“It won’t be,” Kara insisted. “If you want to date him, I won’t stop you, Clark.”

Clark smiled. “Thanks for understanding, Kara.”

“It’s nothing,” Kara lied. “You go and date Brainy. You two will be happy together.”

-

“Brainy, do you wanna go to the beach with me?”

Brainy looked up from his book, surprised. “You mean, like a date?”

“Well, yeah,” Clark said, blushing. “Unless you don’t want to, of course, I won’t make you.”

“I would love to,” Brainy said, smiling. “Thank you, Clark.”

“Can we invite Kara and Lena to come with us, too?” Clark asked.

“Of course,” Brainy said. “I would love to have them with us.”

“I hope that’s fine,” Clark said. “I know you and Kara might still be a little, you know…”

“We’re fine now,” Brainy said. “I think we have both moved on.”

-

“Oh, gosh, Clark,” Kara said, rolling her eyes. “Really?”

Clark smirked. “What? It’s hot out.” Brainy stood at Clark’s side, blushing furiously. Clark had opted to go shirtless to the beach, in shorts. Brainy was in a T-shirt and jeans again. Kara was wearing a tank top and jean shorts, with sunglasses.

“Where’s Lena?” Brainy asked.

“She’s getting here soon,” Kara said, checking her phone. She smiled over at Brainy. “Ever been to a beach before, ‘Brian’?”

“Once, on a mission,” Brainy said. “Unfortunately, I did not have time to enjoy it while fighting crime.” He scrunched up his nose. “And I do not like sand on my feet.”

“Want me to carry you?” Clark offered.

Brainy smiled. “I think I am good, but thanks for the offer.”

Lena finally arrived, wearing a large sunhat and a black sundress. “Thank you for waiting for me, you three.”

“No problem,” Kara said, linking her arm with Lena’s.  _ ‘Huh, this doesn’t feel as nice as it usually does… _ ’

“Why don’t we go sit down and rest for a bit?” Clark said, and smiled down at Brainy. “While we’re out in the sun, do you wanna help put sunscreen on my body?”

Brainy’s face started turning dark red. “ _ Clark… _ ”

“What?” Clark said, trying not to laugh. “Just asking.”

As Kara and Lena walked closer to the beach, Brainy smiled. “You do realize, as a Kryptonian, you do not need sunscreen.”

“Oh?” Clark said. “You  _ want _ to pass up the opportunity to rub my back and chest?”

Brainy just smirked. “The sun is starting to set already.”

“Just do it,” Clark said, handing Brainy the bottle of lotion. “And later I’ll help you put some lotion on.”

As the four of them headed towards the bonfire, Lena sat down on a log close to Kara. “Kara, thanks for having me hang out with you and your friends so much, these past few days. I’m so glad to see you happy again.”

“Thanks,” Kara said. “It’s always good to see Clark. We’re pretty close.”

“And you and Brian are okay, now?” Lena asked, starting to put on some sunscreen. “I mean, he is getting pretty…  _ handsy  _ with your cousin.”

The two turned around to see Clark with his back turned to Brainy as he helped him put lotion on his shoulders.

“It’s a little weird,” Kara admitted. “But I’m trying to be okay with it.”

“Something tells me he’s always kind of liked Clark,” Lena admitted. She lowered her voice. “He looks very happy to rub his back.”

“I’ve noticed,” Kara said. “Brian and I were happy together, but it’s nice to see  _ them  _ so happy, you know?”

“I’ve been told your last relationship, with that Mike Matthews guy, wasn’t so great,” Lena admitted. “And I was worried when you started dating again, Kara.”

“You guys don’t have to worry so much about me,” Kara said. “I can handle myself just fine.”

“I know, Kara,” Lena said. “You’re a strong person.”

Kara had to hold back her laughter.  _ ‘Oh, if only you knew.’ _

“You  _ are _ ,” Lena insisted, thinking Kara’s snort was of doubt.

“I gotta admit, Brian was so  _ refreshing _ after Mike,” Kara said quietly. She paused when Clark walked by to light the bonfire pit. She continued when he left to get more firewood from the pile. “He lied to me about something pretty big, and I just felt awful about it, and then Brian came along, and… Well, he was just so  _ nice _ . I almost didn’t believe it for a while. You get a little used to a jerk boyfriend after awhile, you know?”

Lena nodded. “I know it must’ve been hard, the breakup.”

Kara nodded. “Yeah. It was a little hard. But I think, with Brian living in…. Norway, it wouldn’t have worked.”

“Brian, help me with this firewood, it’s heavy,” Clark said, dumping some more wood into the bonfire.

“I’m  _ small _ ,” Brainy complained, grabbing two pieces and dragging them over. “Kara, you do it, you’re bigger than me.”

“No thanks,” Kara said airily, smirking at him. “You need to build up some muscle, Brian.”

“By lifting heavy pieces of wood?” Brainy complained, picking up two more. “I prefer exercising my  _ brain _ , thank you.”

“That’s what wimps say to make them feel better about themselves,” Clark teased, picking up Brainy in a sort of fireman’s carry. “Come on, weenie.”

Brainy giggled. “Put me down, you dork!”

“Not happening, nerd.”

Lena turned to Kara as the two started horsing around. “Kara, you’re my best and only friend. I don’t want to upset you, but I do not want to keep secrets from you. If I think you are being lied to, I want you to know.”

“What are you talking about?” Kara asked.

Lena sighed. “Kara, I think Brian was just using you to make Clark jealous.”

Kara just stared at her, her face totally blank.

“Kara?” Lena asked quietly. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t take it,” Kara finally said, standing up. “I hate lying, and I hate that all of this happened from one big lie!”

Kara’s outburst caught the attention of Clark and Brainy, as Lena’s eyes widened behind her sunglasses. Brainy looked nervous. “Kara, what’s wrong?”

“You know what’s wrong,  _ Brian _ ,” Kara said. “Clark, Lena, I’m so sorry about lying to you like this, but I’m gonna set things straight right now.” She took a deep breath. “Brian and I were pretend-dating so you could get jealous and finally make a move, and start dating Brian!”

“ _ Kara _ !” Brainy groaned.

“Brai-Brian?” Clark said quietly. “Is that true?”

Brainy sighed. “I am so sorry, Clark.”

Clark frowned. “Brian, I don’t know what to say. I… I think maybe we should stop this for a while.” He stepped away from Brainy. “I just need some time to think, alright? I just… don’t really know what to  _ say. _ I think I’m gonna head back home.” With that, he walked off.

Brainy looked  _ heartbroken _ for a brief second, before turning to look at Kara, with a mixture of anger and confusion on his face. “Kara! Why did you  _ say  _ that?”

“Because  _ I _ like you!” Kara admitted.

Brainy froze. “You what?”

Kara sighed. “I don’t know, okay?” She looked down at the ground. “I just… when we were pretend-dating, I just… thought about how my last relationship went down, and I just wanted to be part of a good relationship again. And you were the nicest boyfriend, Brainy. And you were such a good friend, too. And I started thinking, what if we were  _ actually _ dating?”

“Kara, we were  _ pretend- _ dating,” Brainy said slowly. “None of that was real.”

Kara sighed. “I kept telling myself that, but then I see how you act around Clark, and I remember how you acted like that around me, and… I miss it. I didn’t think you’d actually be such a good boyfriend, Brian. No offence. But you’re just a really good boyfriend, and a really good friend to me. And I was thinking… I want to be part of a healthy relationship again.”

Brainy sighed. “Kara, this is sweet of you, but I like  _ Clark _ . I want to go talk to him, excuse me.” Brainy walked in the direction Clark went, and Kara watched him go.

“Maybe you should go talk to him,” Lena said. “Just go. I’ll catch up later. I need to put this fire out, I’ll meet with you later, okay? Go talk to Brian.”

Kara didn’t argue, as she ran over to join Brainy, though she didn’t have to run so far. Brainy was standing just a bit farther away. It seemed that Clark had flown away, leaving Brainy alone.

Kara was reluctant to walk up to him, though when she heard his sniffling, she put a hand on his shoulder.

“Brainy, I’m  _ so  _ sorry,” Kara whispered. “I didn’t want this to happen. I just… I really  _ do _ like you.”

Brainy sat down on a bench nearby, and Kara followed. “Kara, I’m sorry. I did not think you would actually start liking me. But I have feelings for Clark.”

Kara sighed. “I know. But you really… You just, were so  _ nice _ to me, and so sweet, and you were just… a really great fake-boyfriend.”

Brainy smiled sadly. “I thought you only thought of me as a Brainiac, to be honest.”

“I used to,” Kara confessed. “You know I don’t have good experiences with Brainiacs. And I admit, I was a little worried about you being with Clark.”

“What changed your mind about me?” Brainy asked.

“I don’t know,” Kara muttered. “That night at the club, you just started talking about yourself, and then we started dancing, and you said all that nice stuff…” She sighed. “And then we went to that forest together. I just… I thought maybe you would start liking me back.”

“I really am sorry Kara,” Brainy said quietly. “I just… I like Clark, so much. This was a terrible idea.” He wiped away his tears.

“But, what about us?” Kara asked, though seeing Brainy’s expression, she wished she’d worded that a bit differently.

“Us? Kara, I’m sorry, but we don’t even have anything in common!” Brainy said.

“What do you even have in common with Clark?” Kara burst out.

Brainy paused at that, and looked down at his knees. “He’s been there for me, so many times. He’s been my friend for so long, and he’s helped me, even when, at the time, I thought I didn’t deserve it, or even when it risked his own life. And I’ve done my best to be just as good to him. You won’t believe some of the stuff we’ve done.” He smiled, wiping away more tears. “And we’re both people who came from… complicated pasts. I really do love him, Kara.” He started frowning, again. “I think I might have just ruined that all, though.”

Kara stood up. “Brainy, this wasn’t just  _ your  _ fault. I think I’m gonna go talk to Clark.” She stood up and walked off, leaving Brainy alone, though he was not alone for long.

“I saw that.”

Brainy turned to see Lena walking up to him. “Lena? Did you hear everything?”

“No,” Lena admitted. “But after seeing that little scene in there, I think I get the basic picture.” She sat down next to him. “You were using Kara to make Clark jealous?”

Brainy blushed. “I admit, it was not the best idea. But please, don’t blame Kara for all of this. I was the one who convinced her to pretend-date me.”

“I just wanna know, if you and Kara are…?” Lena started, but stopped when Brainy shook his head.

“We are not together,” Brainy said. “Kara thought she was developing real feelings for me, but I do not think she really feels anything for me. I think she mostly liked the idea of having a romantic partner better than Mike Matthews.”

“And you wanted to make Clark Kent jealous,” Lena said.

Brainy nodded. “We have been close for a long time now, but I wanted us to finally start dating, but I was unsure if Clark’s feelings for me were romantic or not.” He smiled sadly. “But I do not think it matters anymore. I may have just lost all of Clark’s trust and respect, after what happened tonight.”

“And where did Kara go?” Lena asked.

Brainy sighed. “She left to go talk to Clark; they are probably at Kara’s apartment now. But I doubt there is anything she could do to make the situation any better.”

“You never know what could happen, Brian,” Lena said thoughtfully. “You two seemed pretty happy together, back there.”

Brainy nodded. He smiled suddenly. “I was wondering, Kara seems to really like you, you know. Were you worried when she started dating me?”

Lena smiled slyly. “I think it’s time to go to Kara’s, Brian.”

“It is going to be a long walk, Clark and Kara were my ride.”

Lena smiled kindly. “Guess we’re going in my car, Brian. Hop in, we’re going to Kara’s apartment.”

-

Kara walked inside of her apartment, and saw Clark sitting down on the couch. She walked up to him. “Clark?”

Clark turned, and wiped his eyes. “Oh, Kara! Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Clark, I’m so sorry we lied to you,” Kara said. “And I’m sorry at what I said.”

Clark breathed in deeply. “I just… Kara, what made you guys think that was a good idea?”

“Brainy and I thought we could make you and Lena jealous if we started dating each other,” Kara explained. “We didn’t think it would hurt you so bad.”

Clark sighed. “And this whole time, you were just pretending to like Brainy?”

Kara looked down at the ground. “Clark, I… At first, we were just pretending, but after a while, when we started dancing at the club, and Brainy started talking to me, he just… I don’t know, I just kind of realized how great he was. I didn’t think a Brainiac could be so  _ lovable _ !” She smiled weakly. “Are you sure he’s not adopted?”

Clark turned to her, smiling a bit. “Yeah, Brainy’s a great guy. So, how does Brainy feel about you, now?”

Kara sat down next to him on the couch, and shook her head. “Well, all I know is that he was  _ heartbroken _ when you left him alone, back there. Clark, he likes  _ you _ . And I think I need to realize that he doesn’t like me like that.” She sighed. “I know it was a dirt move to pretend-date him. But Brainy was just hoping you’d notice him.”

“Kara?” they heard from the front door. “Kara, open the door. I have Brian with me, too.”

Kara went over to answer the door, and found Lena outside, a red-eyed Brainy right behind her.

“Lena,” Kara said, surprised.

“Brian explained everything to me,” Lena said.

Kara laughed hollowly. “We really made a mess of things, didn’t we?”

“No,  _ I  _ did,” Brainy insisted. “I convinced you to pretend to date me to make Clark jealous. And I was the one who should have just asked Clark out in the first place. This whole plan was my idea, and I dragged all of you into this.”

“I get why you did it,” Clark said. “I know you’re insecure about… long-distance relationships.”

“And I should’ve been more considerate of your feelings about this,” Brainy said. “I should have been more considerate about  _ all _ of your feelings. Especially yours, Kara. I should not have asked you to do something like this so soon after you just got out of an unhealthy relationship.”

Kara sighed. “Brai-Brian…” She suddenly hugged him. “I shouldn’t have done that to myself, either. And you were a great friend to me, and I just helped mess everything up. I didn’t like  _ you _ , I just liked the idea of being in a good relationship again. And I messed up a perfectly fine relationship.”

“I’m not even that mad,” Clark admitted. “I just can’t believe you went through all this trouble just to get me to ask you out.”

“ _ I  _ can hardly believe it,” Lena admitted.

“Please forgive me, everyone,” Brainy said quietly.

Clark smiled. “You wanna know the worst part? Your little plan actually  _ worked _ .” He grabbed Brainy’s hand and kissed his forehead. “Maybe next time, though, we should talk things through.”

Kara sighed. “This is gonna be a little weird, but I guess I gotta get used to this.” She turned to Lena. “Lena…”

“Stop right there,” Lena said. “I’m not upset, or disappointed. I’m just a little confused. And slightly relieved. More confused.”

Kara said nothing.

“I’ve been deceived and manipulated before, Kara,” Lena said. “I saw the signs with Brian, and, to be honest, I am just relieved that you are okay. You know what, though? I was just scared I was gonna lose you. I thought I would lose my friend to her new cute boyfriend.”

“Lena, I wouldn’t abandon my friend just because of a new boyfriend,” Kara said, hugging her. Lena hugged her back. “I’m sorry we made you so worried.”

“I apologize as well,” Brainy said quietly. “Can you forgive me?”

“I forgive the both of you,” Lena confirmed.

“I also forgive you,” Clark said, kissing the top of Brainy’s head, making him blush.

Lena just smiled. “I think they’re gonna make a cute couple. It’s getting late, though, I should be heading home soon. By the way, Kara, I want you to meet me tomorrow after you get off work for dinner.”

Kara blinked. “Wait, what? Dinner?”

Lena nodded. “I will pick you up, and take you to a restaurant that I highly recommend. But I really must get going.” She grabbed her purse, and headed for the door.

“You mean,” Kara asked loudly, “like a date?”

“Good night, Kara.”

As Lena closed the door behind her, Kara turned to the other two. “Was that a date?”

Clark just shrugged, smiling. Brainy grinned.

“I guess everything’s okay, now,” Kara said. “But, Brainy. I really am sorry for ruining everything.”

“But you also helped fixed everything,” Brainy said.

“And I’m sorry for falling for you by accident,” Kara said quietly. “I should’ve tried to be a better fake-girlfriend. By  _ staying  _ a fake-girlfriend.” She smiled. “I guess I just fell for your irresistible charm.”

Brainy laughed. “But, you know what? You really are a great friend, Kara. I  _ still _ can’t believe you actually agreed to this.”

“Same here,” Kara said, hugging him.

“I think it’s almost time for me to go back home, though,” Brainy said. “To Japan, Norway, the Philippines, I don’t really know. You guys seem to be unsure of where I’m from.”

Clark and Kara’s faces fell. Clark spoke up first. “You’re leaving?”

“So soon?” Kara added. “You two just started being boyfriends.”

“I will return someday,” Brainy insisted. “But Clark needs to go back to work in Metropolis. Plus, the whole point of the trip was to get to know you better, Kara. And believe me, we  _ really _ got to know each other these past few days. I will spend the night here, but I think tomorrow morning, I need to leave. The Legion needs me. But we will plan the next time I return, okay, Clark?”

“Alright,” Clark said, kneeling down a bit and kissing Brainy’s cheek.

“I think I will sleep on the couch with Clark, tonight, if that’s okay with you Kara,” Brainy said, kissing him back.

Kara smirked. “If you two wanted to give each other a  _ really great _ goodbye, you two could take my bed, just please put some towels down on the bed or something.”

“Oh, jeez,” Clark said, grabbing Brainy and pulling him towards the couch. “And you called me a perv.”

-

Kara was starting to get annoyed. “Guys, please, I wanna get to work on time, and I wanna give Brainy one last goodbye hug. Please stop making out.”

Clark pulled himself apart from Brainy, who was still blushing, looking a bit out of breath. “Sorry. Just wanted to give him something to remember.”

“Sex lasts five minutes, you two have been going on for  _ way _ longer than that. Now, let me hug the green bean.”

Clark stepped aside so that Kara could give Brainy one last hug.

“Thanks for everything, Kara,” Brainy said, hugging her tight.

“Thanks for being a great fake-boyfriend,” Kara teased. “And you better be a great  _ real _ boyfriend to Clark, or I  _ will _ break your arms.”

Brainy’s smile faltered a bit. “I promise. Now, you remember  _ our  _ little promise, right? From when we started dating?”

“I remember,” Kara said, letting him go, finally.

Brainy waved goodbye one last time, before he made a golden bubble appear around him with his golden belt. In a flash of yellow light, he was gone.

“Never said I’d  _ keep  _ that promise,” Kara said, turning to Clark and giving him a framed picture. In the frame was a picture of Kara and Brainy. Her arm was around his shoulder, her other hand taking the picture. Brainy stood there, a head shorter than Kara, looking very annoyed, while she looked very happy. He wore his regular black pants, but he also wore a black crop top, with a stereotypical green alien on the chest, exposing his surprisingly well-toned arms and stomach.

“You even got it framed,” Clark said, impressed. “That’s dedication.”

“Have fun with that picture,” Kara said. “Just don’t tell Brainy where you got it.”

“I’m pretty sure he’s gonna know when he sees it,” Clark said.

“ _ If _ ,” Kara corrected. “Now, I gotta go to work. And then I gotta go pick out a nice outfit for my... date? She left it pretty ambiguous.”

Clark just smiled. “Thanks, cuz. I gotta go, too, but promise me something?”

“What’s that?”

Clark hugged her. “Next time, Brainy and I are staying at a hotel.”

Kara shoved him away. “Okay, gross, I  _ so _ didn’t need to know that. That’s my fake-ex-boyfriend you’re talking about.”

Clark picked up his luggage. “Goodbye, perv.”

Kara opened the door for him. “I’ll miss you, perv.”


End file.
